Aria, Maiden of Water
by Refia
Summary: After the events at the Water Crystal, Aria finds herself in the World of Darkness. What begins as a journey to answer her questions, soon becomes a quest to Balance both worlds, as Aria finds out what forces threaten both Light and Dark. FF III DS
1. Confusion and Fear

**Aria, Maiden of Water**

NOTE: If you are playing Final Fantasy III DS and are not yet past the Water Crystal, this chapter and possible later chapters may contain important spoilers. I don't want to scare away readers, but I don't want to spoil the gaming fun of people, either.

**1. Confusion and Fear **

"_Look out!" _

She had seen it. She had pushed him out of the way. They were the ones that needed to live, not her. When she fell, it was like time was slowing… Like the time-stopping that had happened to all the rest of the surface world was now finally happening to her. But it wasn't quite the same… She saw him leaning over me, lifting her head up a bit. It softened her pain, to see that he cared… She heard that menacing voice, in the very distance. Everything grew so soft, her vision blurry… He left her side. While she laid there and slowly slipped into darkness, she could hear the cries of battle. Her heart told her, that they fought with furry and grieve…

And then he was there again, at her side. He didn't leave her. She blessed him, him and the others, with the light of the Crystal. Her task was done. She was happy that I could have helped them, if only a little…

"_Aria, hang on!"_

"_N-no…It's already, too late for me…"_

"_Aria, you can't leave us!" _

"_Promise me… Promise me that you'll free the land from the darkness…That you will give birth to the light again…"_

Everything ended with darkness. And she sank into it. In a far away distance, she could vaguely hear her name being called.

"_Aria! Ariaaa!!!"_

When she fully slipped into darkness, the last thing she felt and remember, was that she smiled and that a tear rolled over her cheek as she did so.

---

"_So this is death…? Floating around in darkness, having no feeling. Just being there, in the darkness, forever. Waves of memories rush over me, like my whole life is passing by at rapid speed. But why? I am dead, am I not?"_

Her own thoughts echoed in her head.

"_I feel afraid. I didn't know you could be afraid when you have died. But I am. I am afraid to be in this darkness forever. I feel tiny, small. Small compared to this never ending darkness. Is this the end? Is this where I am to be till the end of time, if there is time here? Somehow, I cannot believe that."_

In silence she send out her prayers. Prayers for help. Somebody come and help me, help me to escape this. Help me escape death… She didn't know how it is possible, but she could feel something. A tear running over her cheek. She wished she was with that kind young man again. She wished she was in his arms again. She would never forget that in the end, he was there. How she wished that he could be here now, to help her.

She was crying.

"_It is weird, to be able to cry when you are dead. But if I can cry, is it possible that I can do more? Maybe I should try to speak? If I could hear my voice again, than maybe I wouldn't feel so alone. If I could break this silence, this haunting silence…"_

"Luneth…"

She had intended to speak, but it had come out as a whisper. Yet, the silence was broken… And she felt warm. Like her body was starting to work again. Somehow…

"Open your eyes…" She whispered to myself. A task so simple, yet the effort it took to do so surprised her.

"_Opening your eyes, how hard can it be? Maybe, you aren't supposed to open your eyes when you are dead?"_

She felt how she clenched my fists, as if it was to encourage herself. "Come on… Aria… You can do it…" Her eyelids felt like they were made of lead… But, after what seemed forever, she could see tiny bit of light. It gave her hope. She gathered all the strength that she could bring up. Her eyes opened and she was bathed in a blinding ,white light…

When she woke up, she was no longer in darkness. She could move again, see again. She was freed from my prison of death. Or, at least that is what she thought. Testing if she could move again, she tried to sit up. She was able to do so without any problems. She touched her chest. The wound of the Kraken's arrow was gone, only a scar remained.

"_Strange. Do wounds heal when you are dead?" _

Aria looked at the rest of my body, but everything seemed fine. She decided to go a bit further in her movements, this time standing up. She could do that, too.

"I do not understand this." She whispered, laying her hands on her chest. "Is this death?"

Then she noticed her surroundings. A gasp escaped her lips. She covered her mouth with her hands to suppress a scream. She was not on the surface world! She was not in darkness, but at least it came close to it, at least in her eyes. Around her everything seemed to be endless. Endless blue depths, filled with stars. Aria looked at her feet. The ground she was standing on seemed to be made of some kind of beautiful stone. Or maybe even crystal. It had that dark blue colour like the eternity around her had. She bend over to touch it. The surface felt smooth and polished. Aria stood up straight again, and her gaze followed the small floor she was standing on. It looked like a path. A long path, floating in eternity and made of crystal. A path of which she couldn't see the end. Hesitatingly, she set a step forward. Nothing happened. It became a little too much for the young Maiden of Water. She fell on her knees and cried.

"What is happening? Where am I?"

How she didn't long for Luneth to be with her. Him and the other Warriors of Light. They had cared for her. They would have helped her, like she had helped them. She was sure of that. But now she was dead, and there was no way for them to reach her.

Eventually she got a hold of herself. "I must find out what I am doing here, or where 'here' is. And I have to do this on my own…" Afraid but without any other options, Aria walked further along the path. She continued to observe her surroundings, which never seemed to change much. Sometimes the pathway was covered by dark, purple clouds that nearly made it impossible for her to see where she was going. When that happened, she continued slowly and placed her hands on her chest, unsuccessfully trying to calm herself. She caught herself touching the scar on her chest almost all the time.

The pathway went on and on, and there seemed to come no end to it. Aria was getting desperate. When would this end? She looked around again. But this time she noticed something had changed. When she looked behind her, she noticed how far she had walked already. She couldn't even see the place where she had woken up. She looked at her left. In the distance, she could see what seemed to be a huge floating island. It was too far away to see exactly what it was, but she could see some things where built on it. It reminded her of the Floating Continent. When she looked around better, she noticed more of such floating things. But they were all too far to see clearly. Her eyes followed the path again and Aria saw that the path she was following led to such a floating island as well. It was also too far for her to see exactly what was on it, but she hoped it would be an end to this endless path.

Aria was amazed at what she saw. It had been further than she thought, but now she had left behind the narrow path and was walking in what seemed to be some sort of forest. The closer she had come to the place, the more she had realised that this place indeed looked like the Floating continent. The path that led to it was tiny compared to the floating chunk of land. She wasn't sure if it was really land, but it looked like it. The outskirts of this island had been relatively empty. The nice, polished pathway had changed into a hard, rocky ground. The rocky ground had a dark blue and purple colour. Eventually the rocky, empty landscape had changed into a forest. The trees were strange, their trunks grey and their leaves dark. A small path ran between the trees. This placed seemed to be bend on keeping her going, not looking back. But all the walking had tired the Maiden of Water.

Aria looked for a place to rest. One of the trees had a very broad trunk and the ground around it was covered with some mosses. Carefully Aria touched the moss. It was very soft. Some of the trees roots were so big that at the base of the trunk, the came above the ground.

"If I rest here between these roots…" she said to herself "I won't be easily spotted…" Taking the risk, she nestled down on the mosses at the base of the tree. Now she noticed just how sleepy she was.

"_Strange…I didn't know you could feel sleepy when you are dead…"_

Then she sank into a very long, deep sleep.

---

When Aria woke up, she immediately was aware of the fact that everything around her seemed brighter. The 'sky' above her was no longer dark blue and purple, but more of a soft, sea blue colour. It was still dark compared to the sky on the surface world before the Darkness had come, but it made her feel better. The trees, that had seem so dead and lifeless when she had fallen asleep, now were more like the trees she knew. At least the trunks were brown, very dark brown, now and the leaves green, incredibly dark green. The fact that she was surrounded by familiar things calmed her.

Aria got up and stretched herself a bit. The mosses had been a very nice bed indeed. Her long sleep had refreshed her. Aria wondered if she needed to eat, because she had needed to sleep, but nothing around her seemed eatable.

"I should be on my way again." She said to herself. Taking a deep breath, she stepped on the path and continued to follow it, deeper into the woods.

The first sign of life made her heart jump out of her chest. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a bird flying over her head, landing on a tree branch and observing her curiously. It was a bird like she had never seen before and, like everything here, it was coloured darkly.

"Hello there." She smiled to the bird. It opened its beak and let out a soft screech, maybe trying to figure out what she was, or trying to impress her. Then it flew off again. Aria shrugged and went further, happy that she wasn't the only being here. She didn't dare to say 'living' being, because she knew very well that she was dead.

After a long time, the path arrived at a river. The water was also dark, but it didn't seem poisoned or something like that. In fact, and Aria was amazed at this, she found that it looked crystal clear. She left the path and went to the riverside. Hesitatingly she kneeled down and put a finger in the water. It was soothingly cool. She put both her hands in and enjoyed the feeling. Then she cupped her hands and splashed some water in her face. It felt so good! When the water touched her lips, Aria suddenly noticed how thirsty she was. She filled her hands again and carefully took a sip. The water tasted normal, even though it was a tiny bit thicker than the water of the surface world. She drank until she could drink no more. Then it was time to continue her way again. The path continued over the river, thanks to a wooden bridge that was build there.

"So, there must be people here too!" She gasped, as she hesitatingly touched the bridge, only believing it was real when she felt the wood under her fingers. It gave Aria a bit of courage. She crossed the bridge and followed the path, which led her along the river for quite some time.

Once she arrived at another bridge, she decided to rest for a while. Above her, the sky, or whatever it was, had become a little bit brighter again, but only a little. Still, it made her feel better. She heard screeching again and noticed the bird from before.

"Hello again." Aria smiled. "Have you come to keep me company?"

The bird tilted his head, observing her again. Then it flapped its wings and screeched at her.

"What?" Aria asked. "Am I doing something wrong?"

The bird didn't stop screeching. It was trying to tell her something, she realized. Its tone was very excited. What was it trying to do? Aria turned around and saw why the bird was making so much noise. A big, fire red snake had slowly crept up from behind her. Its teeth were shimmering, its cold eyes observed her. She almost screamed. Then she turned and ran. The bird flew of, screeching louder and louder, but Aria forgot about the bird. Her mind was to occupied running. She heard the serpent come after her. It was big, twice as high as the Kraken had been, with his long tentacles.

"It must think I am a prey…" Aria realized. She ran faster, trying to get away from it. It seemed like she had a small chance, until she hit a dead end. The path was blocked by a huge fallen tree. At her left side was the river, to broad to jump across. At her right was the forest. She tried to reach it, but the serpent by now had cornered her. It reared up and looked down on her, its split tongue catching her scent. The monster knew that smell. It was the smell of fear. Preparing itself for an unusual meal, it lunged down at the Maiden of Water. Aria closed her eyes and waited for the fangs to go through her and kill, her, again. If she could die again, that was.

Only it never came. She heard a cry of beastly furry, coming from the serpent. She opened her eyes a bit and saw the beast, with an arrow in its left eye. From between the woods came a man shrouded in black. On his shoulder sat the black bird. The serpent now turned its attention to him. It attacked the stranger, but died when the man broke its neck with one slash of his sword, which he had suddenly drawn. Pulling his sword out of the beast's neck, the stranger turned to Aria.

"Are you alright?" He asked coldly. She didn't answer. Too much had happened at once. She had died and now she had been almost killed again. Her knees grew weak under her. She felt herself falling. She could hear the stranger's running footsteps, the screeching of the black bird. Then Aria passed out.

---

So yeah, a fanfic about Aria from Final Fantasy III. Her death was one of the saddest in the entire series (in my opinion) as she was my favorite character from the game. That why I decided to write this fanfic about her, to give her her own adventure even if she died in the World of Light. I'll avoid changing FF III story events as much as possible, unless I want that event to happen differently. Hope whoever has read this enjoyed it. Next chapter will hopefully bring some explanations.


	2. Erin of the Dark

**Aria, Maiden of Water**

A quick update. (It won't always be like that.) This chapter will hopefully show a bit in which direction this story is heading. It's all made up, but in the end will tie in with the main Final Fantasy III storyline, don't worry.

**2. Erin of the Dark **

Aria groaned as she woke up again. Her vision was blurry and she felt dizzy. What had happened? Oh yes, she had passed out in the forest. Her vision became normal again and Aria noticed, she was no longer in the forest. She was laying on a soft bed in a building, probably a house. She wanted to move, but only then she noticed her hands were tied together, as were her feet. A gasp escaped the young maiden's lips.

"What's going on?" she muttered. Aria bowed her head. Why didn't this end? She had died, why wouldn't they just leave her alone now? She heard footsteps. And a familiar screeching.

It was that young man that had saved her from that thing in the forest.

"So you are awake?" he asked, giving her a sideways glance. Aria nodded. "Are you from the world of Light?" This question had come sudden, and Aria was confused by it. She didn't answer. He sighed impatiently. "You can speak, can't you?"

"I can." She shyly replied.

"Then answer me, are you from the World of Light?"

"I don't understand what you are saying." She confessed. "Where am I?"

"You are in the World of Darkness." He answered. Silence. "I take it you are from the World of Light then." It all didn't make sense to Aria, she was more and more confused about what had happened.

"Is this…" She slowly asked. "Is this death?"

Now it was his turn to be confused. "Death…?"

Aria nodded. "I am… I am supposed to be dead…"

"Did you hit your head or something?"

She shook her head and showed him the scar on her chest, only an inch above her heart. She heard him gasp. "Where did you get that?"

"In the cave of tides." Aria replied. "The Warriors of Light were attacked by an assassin named Kraken… I…" She bit her lip. The memory of it was actually quite painful. "I pushed them out of the way." He fell silent, not sure if he had to believe her. But at the sight of the tears he didn't doubt the truth in her words anymore. Gently he untied her bonds.

"I believe you." His facial expression softened into a gentle, assuring smile. It comforted her. "Well, my name is Erin, what's yours?"

"Aria, my name is Aria."

He offered her a hand, which she took and he helped her up. Aria noticed the black bird from the forest. "I believe you already met Falc?"

"I have indeed." The Maiden smiled. The bird screeched again and flew to Erin, landing gracefully on his shoulder. Aria carefully stroke over the birds soft feathers. It seemed to enjoy that, as it let out some soft noises.

"Well, anyway Aria, do you want to stretch your legs a bit?"

"Gladly." She replied. "I want to know where I am and why it is, that I am not dead."

He led her outside. Erin's hut was built in the forest, close to where the river broadened.

"Do you live here all by yourself?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm a hunter. Lately the Jurmangunds have become a plague. I'm one of the people who tries to do something about them. In vain, though."

"Jurmangunds…?"

"You saw one already, the serpent that attacked you was one."

Aria shivered as she remembered the cold eyes and the long, shimmering fangs. Erin gazed of in the distance. "More and more monsters show up lately." He didn't look at her. "It's like in the old tales of the Dark Warriors."

Aria didn't get what he was saying. She was still confused by all these new things. A sigh escaped her lips and she tugged Erin's arm.

"Erin, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't get at all what's happening here. Would you mind giving me some answers?" he gazed in her crystal blue eyes for a while, then nodded. Aria sank down on a tree stump.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the World of Darkness. It's the counterpart of the World of Light. Both worlds maintain the Balance between Light and Dark."

"So that means I am not dead. Or am I?" She shook her head and bowed her head. "I just don't know…" He kneeled down in front of her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Aria, calm down. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of this. Take it easy for now."

She studied his face, it showed a caring expression. She was grateful that he cared.

"Thank you Erin."

"It's what I do." He shrugged. "But okay, I'm sure you have more questions."

"Yes…" She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Why did you tie me up? When you asked me if I was from the world of light, you seemed afraid, or angry. Why was that?"

Erin didn't immediately answer. He turned his back to her and pondered over his answer. "The people of the Dark they… They don't really appreciate the People of light."

"Why is that?"

"Thousand years ago, the Cataclysm of Light happened, thanks to the haughtiness of the people of Light. The Balance was Broken and our world was threatened to be devoured by the Void. It was stopped in time when the Dark Crystals called forward four Dark Warriors, but still… The people of the Dark still haven't forgiven the People of Light."

"It happened long ago." Aria said. "By now, the Ancients who did that no longer exist." She looked at Erin. "Do you know that now it is the Darkness from this world that threatens my world?"

Erin stiffened. "E-even if that is so, the people of the Dark have nothing to do with it!"

"I didn't say that." Aria quickly apologized. "It's just… You can't keep blaming us, when the same thing easily could have happened to the people here."

"Fair enough." He agreed. It became silent for a while. Aria didn't really know what she wanted to ask now. Her biggest question was one he would not be able to answer.

"Do you trust me?" she finally asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Something inside me tells me that I can, that I have to."

Aria sighed again and again. "I'm at loss. What do I have to do…?"

Erin seemed to be thinking about that too, for his face had a serious expression. Even Falc was silent for once. Finally Erin stood up, having made up his mind.

"Well, on this small island you won't find any answers, I'm afraid." He helped her up. "I have a friend on the main continent of Archis. He's very wise, he might be able to help you with some of your questions. At least, more than I can."

"Is it very far?" Aria asked, not sure if she liked the idea of a very long journey in an unknown world where the people didn't like People of the Light World like her. Then again, what options did she have?

"If we leave today, we can reach the Airship port within two days. From there, it will be only a day to Archis with the airship ferry."

"Well… Are you sure you want to help me? It is a sudden decision, is it not?"

"Aria…" He shook his head. "What else can I do? Leave you here every day, waiting for me to come back from my hunt, and you not getting any answers at all?" He patted her shoulder. "No, it'll be quite alright. I was going back soon to get my money for all the Jurmangunds I've slain and to buy some new supplies, anyway."

"Alright then… If you are sure it is okay."

"Great. Now, give me some time to gather some of my stuff and we'll be off." He already was going back to the hut when Aria asked: "Now?"

"Yes, now." He winked, with a half smile. "Time's valuable, and you never have enough of it in your life."

"Tell me about it." The Maiden of Water muttered as soon as Erin had disappeared in the hut.

A bit later Erin returned, carrying a bow with quiver on his back, together with a backpack. His sword, with which he had slain the Jurmangund that had attacked Aria, dangled on his belt. He took a black travelling coat from the backpack and handed it to Aria.

"It maybe doesn't fit with your nice white dress, but it'll cover you enough so you won't be as easily spotted."

Hesitatingly Aria put the coat over her shoulders. It was made of some heavy material, but also soft and warm. Yes, it would certainly help to make it harder to spot her. Then Erin handed her a dagger. Her eyes went wide and she looked at him, feeling a bit afraid.

"I hope you won't have to use it, but if I ever get beaten or if you are attacked from behind, you'll be able to defend yourself with it at least." Erin explained.

"But… But I've never wielded a weapon before! I'm a priestess, I help people with my white magic, but I can't fight!"

"Don't worry, you won't have to fight. I'll protect you. I'll just feel better knowing that you'll have a last defence should I fail." Hesitatingly, Aria took the dagger and put it in a small pocket of her coat. If fitted perfectly in it.

"If we get to Achis, we can buy something more appropriate for a magic user like you." He looked at her sideways. "Are you good at magic?"

"I can cast some Lv3 white magic, but nothing more." He seemed a bit disappointed and she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry! But… I can't help it… I…" He mentioned her to be silent.

"It's okay." He assured her. "If you can cast Cura, that will be good enough for our journey to Achis. We can learn you more magic once there."

"I don't want to be a burden…" Aria whispered, looking at her feet. He put his arm comforting around her. "Or plunder your wallet."

"Don't worry about that. You aren't, let me assure you." Then he took his backpack and called Falc. "Common Aria, let's go."

She nodded and ran up to him. Together they left behind the hut and headed for the airship port that would take them to the main continent of Achis. Aria sincerely hoped that this friend of Erin would be able to help her. She let her questions drop of her for now and focussed on the journey ahead. Many things continued to happen so sudden. Her meeting with Erin, and now her journey with him and his sudden decision to help her. Her head hurt.

"Don't think about it." She reminded herself. "Everything will eventually get clear." Full of doubt Aria followed Erin.

"Don't worry Aria." He gave her a smile. "Every question has an answer. Even yours, confusing and strange as they might be."

"I hope you're right." The Maiden of Water thought. "I really do."

---

This one was a bit shorter than the first one, but I can't always write long chapters. Anyway, enjoy.


	3. Journey to Iquara

The fact that little people read this is either because they want to avoid spoilers, which I can understand, or because this is badly writte, which I can also understand. So I'll just have to try harder. Here's chapter 3.

**3. Journey to Iquara **

Aria stayed close to Erin, she felt safer that way. A lot safer. Constantly the Maiden of Water was glancing between the trees, afraid that a Jurmangund would come out and attack her, again.

"Don't worry so much." Erin said, giving her an assuring smile. "It's not necessary."

"I just… can't help it." She slowly said, her face turning grim. "It is horrible to die, Erin… And I know… And if I'm dead or alive now, I don't want to die a second time…"

Erin hadn't thought of that, and he felt stupid. "I'm sorry…" Was all he could blurt out. But Aria shook her head. "No Erin, it is alright. I know how unbelievable this must be for one who is sure that he is alive."

"I didn't know it was possible." Erin confessed. "To be unsure about the fact that you're alive or dead…"

A shiver ran down Aria's spine. "Let us just quit this subject… Please…" The young man from the dark nodded and didn't mention the subject again that day.

Meanwhile, Aria also left behind her uncertainty about her alive or dead status. She had decided to start enjoying this new journey, and the scenery. For indeed, the longer she stayed in this World of Darkness, the more she came to appreciate its beauty. Sure, it was different from her world, but that didn't mean it was bad. They had trees, animals, and monsters (unfortunately). However, there were also differences. Like the fact that there was no sea but eternity between continents. She decided to ask Erin about that.

"Erin, on my way here, I've seen many paths that lead to these islands and continents, just floating around in nothingness. What happens when you fall of?"

"You fall." He replied. "But eventually you'll hit something. Be it good or bad."

"I better don't fall of then." She replied, biting her lip. Erin had to laugh.

"No, you better don't. Although, I don't know people who have fallen of, really. And frankly, I wouldn't want to, either." Aria fell silent. For a moment nothing was said.

"You know, Aria." Erin began. "It wasn't always like this." She looked up and glanced at him, puzzled.

"In the very beginning, the worlds were on." Erin told her. "Then Light and Dark came into existence, and the world was split. The crystals were formed to keep the two in Balance."

"You have Crystals here, too?"

Erin nodded. "Of course! The Temple of the Crystals lies at the very centre of this world. Lately though, the temple is taking away from the eye by a large cloud of darkness covering it."

"A cloud of darkness?"

"Yeah… Those who have been close, say that it feels evil." His expression darkened. "Now that I think of it… You said that in the world of light, the crystals are darkening… I wonder if the two are connected…?"

Aria hadn't thought of that yet. But now that Erin looked at it that way, it actually made sense for her. She didn't really doubt that his guess was a wrong one.

"Erin, I think it is exactly as you say." Her mind began thinking. There were crystals here too. The crystals here, too, were kept away from human eyes, just like the crystals in her own world. She remembered Kraken, who said that he was working in the name of lord 'Xande'… That name… This Xande… he had to be the one who caused the darkening or the crystals, which stopped time on the Surface world. Or at least he had to be involved. Why else would this 'Xande' order the Warriors of Light to be assassinated?

"Aria?"

Startled she looked up, her chest pounding. Then she realized it had just been Erin who had talked to her.

"Uh, you were saying something, Erin?" She looked at him with a hint of embarrassment. He chuckled softly.

"No, just checking if you're okay. You were staring creepily into nothingness, you know."

"I was just thinking about things." She replied softly. Erin gave her that assuring smile of his again and then they continued to walk in silence.

---

Around noon, they arrived at a small pond on an open spot in the forest. Erin decided that they would rest there a bit, and Aria was glad too. She wasn't really used to very long walks. She was a priestess, not an adventurer.

"We're making good progress." Erin commented as he sat down. "At this speed, we can reach the airship port of Iquara sooner than I had first thought we could."

"I'm glad to hear that." Aria smiled. "This is tiring you know."

"Ah, not used to travelling, are you?" He chuckled. Aria silently shook her head.

"No, liking travelling was never a requirement to become a Priestess of the Water Crystal."

"Priestess? Water Crystal?" Erin looked at her, surprised. "You didn't tell me that yet."

"I didn't tell you a lot of things, actually. But you didn't ask."

He laughed again. "Yeah, well… Aria, can you tell me more about you and the Water Crystal?"

She shrugged and nodded. "Sure. It is nothing special. I am the last of a line of Priestesses that were meant to protect and serve the Light Crystal of Water. When the darkness came, before the time froze, we, to protect it, sealed the Water Crystal in the Cave of Tides. Then the time froze on the surface world, slowly engulfing everything. What happened to the others, I do not know. But I avoided this effect long enough to meat the Warriors of Light, the ones chosen to restore balance. They needed me. Only I could open the cave of Tides and restore the light to the Crystal. We took the crystal shard from the temple, were the Crystal originally rested. Then we went to the Cave of Tides, I aided them with my white magic. And when we reached the Water Crystal, I kneeled down and prayed to it, like I was taught to. Then…" She bit her lip, clasped her hands in front of her face and shook her head. She felt tears coming up again, and memories. Painful memories. He reached over and touched her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Aria, it's okay, you don't have to tell… I can guess…" Again she shook her head, her tears now flowing freely over her cheeks. She tried to say something, but could only sob.

"It's just…" Again her sobbing interrupted her. "It is awful to die, Erin…" He sat next to her and put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried. He didn't really know what to do, what to say. He just sat there and held her close to him. But for her it meant a lot. She felt support from him. He cared for her like a brother would care for his little sister. Yeah, that was a pretty accurate comparison.

"We'll find out what's going on with you Aria, I promise you." He whispered in her ear. She only nodded and continued sobbing. No, he didn't know how it was to die, and frankly, judging by her reaction on it, he didn't want to know either.

---

After they had rested a little bit, the two of them continued their journey through the forests. Aria had become very silent and Erin couldn't really blame her. He decided to just leave her be until she felt better again. Flac flew over to Aria's shoulder and rubbed his head against her cheek. Aria couldn't help but smile, and caressed the hunting bird over his head and beak.

"Erin." He looked at her. "I just notice it now, but… Are the forests here always this quiet?" He shook his head. "No. Most animals simply hide, Jurmangunds, you know."

"Oh."

Erin raised his hand, mentioning her to stop and be silent. He silently drew his sword. Aria moved a bit closer to him. She caught herself holding her hand on the dagger.

"Falc, go scouting." He hissed to the bird. The hunting bird took of from Aria's shoulder and disappeared in the green.

"What is it, Erin?" she whispered as silent as she could.

"I have the feeling we're not alone." His eyes scanned between the trees. "It's probably a Jurmangund…" Falc returned quickly, landing on Erin's outstretched hand. He screeched something and apparently the Hunter understood. "Just as I thought." He nodded. "There's one nearby. Maybe we can avoid it…" He took her hand and slowly dragged her along, following Falc. However it seemed that the monster was hunting too. Even though they were walking silent, the enormous snake reared up unexpectedly in front of Erin. The hunter cursed, let go of Aria and immediately trussed forward with his blade. He made a deep cut in its flesh and the monster roared in pain, but it wasn't enough to kill it. With its short arms it lashed out at Erin, making him back away, enough for the monster to get a hit at the Hunter with its tail. Erin smacked against the ground. Aria wanted to rush over to him, but he stopped her.

"No, stay there, its too dangerous for you. And I've done this before." He jumped to his feet again, ready for round two. "Bring it on overgrown worm!"

The Jurmangund swiped at Erin again with its tail, but this time the Hunter was prepared. He jumped over it and made a mention to Falc. The bird dove down at the head of the snake and pecked at the eyes, infuriating the monster even further. It became clear to Aria that they had done this before, working as a team. The Jurmangund was just too busy with Falc and protecting his eyes to notice Erin jumping forward and burying his sword in the heart of the animal. The reptile let out one last roar and fell down, but not before it managed to get a good hit at the arm of the hunter with the claws on its short fingers. Then it lay dead on the forest floor. Erin grabbed his arm but smiled. He had been a tad too confident. Aria rushed up to him.

"You're hurt." She noted. He glanced at her with an assuring smile.

"Nothing serious."

Aria put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Sure. And I know how to fight. Let me see that wound." He rolled up his sleeve and she softly touched the wound. A few nasty scratches, they were bleeding, but nothing too dangerous. "Just a flesh wound, I've healed those many times in the Cave of Tides." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She held her hand on the wound. "Cura." A soft, calming blue light sparkled over the wound and Erin gasped as the wounds closed at unnatural speed. "There." Aria smiled as she opened her eyes again. "That should to it. Next time when you're fighting, I'll cast protect on you."

"Now that would be nice." He smiled. "Thank you Aria."

She blushed slightly. He sheathed his sword and called down Falc. Then he went to the Jurmangund and pulled out the serpent's poison fangs. He stored them in his bag. Aria looked disgusted. "I get paid for these." He explained. Aria still didn't like the sight of it and turned away. He touched her shoulder comforting.

"Common, let us continue after this small annoyance." She rolled with her eyes and followed him. She found it hard to make up her mind about him. One moment he was the serious hunter, the other the carefree Erin of the Dark.

---

When the night began to fall, Erin decided that they had gone far enough for today.

"We've made wondrous progress Aria." He smiled to her. "I didn't really expect you to be so good at long walks."

"Didn't know that either." She smiled weakly and sat down on a tree trunk, happy to give her feet some rest. Aria studied the sky. It was still quite clear, even though, in Erin's words, night began to fall. The river was only a few metres away. Hidden from view by bushes and trees. Erin began gathering wood for a campfire.

"You look tensed, Aria." He remarked as he grabbed some wood.

"Maybe I am…" She sighed. Erin shook his head.

"Lighten up a little. There's no point in worrying now. We have a much bigger chance to find answers once we reach Archis."

He was right, she knew it. She needed to relax a little. Easier said then done. A few metres away from her the river slowly flew. Aria stood up. "I think I'll wash myself in the river while you are making camp, if you don't mind. Water was always able to calm me down."

He didn't seem to have any problems with that. "Go ahead. Just be careful for Jurmangunds. Keep that dagger close." She took it from her travelling cloak. A shiver ran down her spine as she studied it. The fact that she one day just might have to use it terrified her. She had seen Erin slaughter the serpent with ease this afternoon, but she knew that she would never be able to do that. She nodded to Erin and left for the water, convinced that he wouldn't peek at her. It was strange, but somehow she trusted him, even if her mind wasn't sure just what to make of him.

Once at the water, her fingers touched its surface. The water felt cool and inviting. Checking one last time that it was safe, Aria removed her dress and stepped into the shallow water, allowing the slowly flowing liquid to touch every part of her body, allowing it to calm her. The water, like she had noticed before, was a bit darker than at home, a bit thicker, too, but it was just as comforting. It was pure too. Crystal clear the water was. How sad that because of all the monsters, there were no animals or fish to taste this water, to live in it. It was silent, but she didn't really mind. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of peace, the calm.

Roughly twenty minutes later she came back to the camp, where a warm fire burned fiercely, waiting for her to come and warm herself at its flames. The peace the water had given her was still with her. For the first time since she had arrived here, Aria really felt good. Erin sat on another tree trunk, his gaze fixed on the flames. She knew that look in his eyes, for she had it too when she came across a spring, a crystal pure lake or river. He had the same affinity with flames as she had with water, she realized.

"The fire is beautiful, isn't it, Aria?" He asked her, without taking his gaze off. She nodded and sat down on her tree trunk.

"As beautiful as pure water, like in the river." She commented. He still didn't take his gaze off the flames.

"Do you feel better now?"

The Maiden of Water nodded. "I do. The water really helped me, it felt great."

"I'm glad." His reply came. He stretched his hand towards the flames, but pulled it back when it became too hot. "Unlike you, I'll never be able to bath in my favourite element. But I can be captured by its beauty just as well."

"I can believe that, Erin. Really, I can." She started to gaze in the flames as well. "After all, fire really is a beautiful element. It offers light and warmth. Comfort. And I can see how some people are charmed… calmed by its appearance. Just like me and the water I serve."

He looked up to her and gave her a smile. "Well said, Aria, well said…" Falc sat on a tree branch, well away from the flames. Intelligent as he was, he was still an animal, and didn't really like fire as much as his master did. After a long moment of silence, Erin finally stirred, finally broke his trance.

"You should get some sleep Aria. Tomorrow we'll have another day of walking ahead of us before we reach the airship port of Iquara. Don't worry about your safety, I'll keep guard." The young Maiden suddenly noticed just how tired she was. She laid her travelling cloak on the ground and nestled herself onto it, close enough to the fire so the flames would keep the forest cold away from her. Even though she was tired, it still took her a long time to fall asleep. Erin now and then would stand up and throw some more wood on the fire, but aside from that he didn't do much, except for gazing from Aria to the flames. Finally her fatigue caught up with her. Her crystal blue eyes fell shut and Aria sank away into a comforting, deep sleep.

---

I don't really know how long this one will be. A rough guess is 15 chapters.That's not as long as some of my other fics, but that's intended. This is just a relative short story in Honour of Aria, to give her some spotlight (and a happy ending?) as well.


	4. Alica the Dragoon

So... eh... yeah... Sorry for the long wait. Heh...

**4. Alica the Dragoon**

"Well," Erin smiled. "We made it in time, the Airship hasn't left yet." Aria was glad, they had walked at a very high pace, which she wasn't used to. But, at least these efforts had been worth it, they had made it in time. Erin paid the captain of the ship to let the two of them aboard. Aria felt a bit guilty that Erin did everything for her. She didn't really want him to do that, not wanting to be a burden.

"I see what you're thinking." He whispered to her as they walked over the deck to the railing. "And I will tell you not to mind. I'm glad that I'm able to help you. It's something different than what I'm usually doing."

"But still." Aria protested. "It's not fair."

"Like I said, I don't mind. Now keep it down a bit Aria and let's just wait patiently for the ship to leave." He glanced at her. "Keep that cloak around yourself. We should keep it secret that you are from the other world."

Aria shivered from some reason and pulled the black cloak a bit tighter around her, hiding her white dress completely. She gazed over the strange World of Darkness, with its floating islands and large fields of dark blue sky.

There weren't many other people aboard, the crew, the captain and themselves. But there was another one. A strong looking, young woman. Apparently she just came back from a search in the woods. Paying the captain to let her aboard, she suddenly noticed Erin. Clenching her jaw, she paced towards him, seemingly irritated.

"Well, well!" She spat. "If it isn't Erin of the Dark! Whenever you need him, he's never at home."

Erin swirled around, facing the woman, his hand at his sword. He was about to say something, when he recognized her. "Blunt as always, aren't we, Alica?"

Alica simply shrugged, her angry frown ebbed away, replaced by an amused smile. "So how have you been, Erin?"

"At hunt as always." He replied, pointing to his bag filled with teeth. "And you?"

"Jumping on things, as always." She giggled, getting a large smile on her face. "As a true Dragoon." She then noticed Aria, who hadn't moved at all during this and had kept staring at the World. "And who's this cute young lady?"

Aria realised she was talking about her. Shyly she turned around to look at Alica, avoiding the Dragoon's gaze at all cost.

"Somebody I met." Erin distantly replied, avoiding the question. Alica snorted.

"My little toe could have guessed that." She sighed irritated. "So again Erin, who is she?"

"This is Aria." Erin finally answered. Alica raised an eyebrow and studied the Maiden of Water carefully.

"She looks like a priestess to me. Not really somebody you meet on an island full of Jurmangunds, wouldn't you agree, Erin?"

Erin finally admitted defeat. Letting out another deep sigh, he asked the Dragoon: "What is it you want?"

"That you stop lying to me." Alica retorted. "Who is she Erin? You can't fool me."

Erin hesitated again, but Aria answered in his place. "I'm Aria, Maiden of Water, from the World of Light."

Silence.

Alica stared at Aria for a long time, then her hand moved to the handle of her lance. Before she could grab it however, Erin already had his sword at her throat.

"Don't even think of it, Alica." He hissed softly, being careful not to draw any attention. She shot him a deadly look.

"Have you lost your mind Erin?" she hissed back. The Dark Hunter slowly shook his head.

"On the contrary." He slowly lowered his sword. "I kept her identity down. But you had to insist." He sighed deeply. "You and your damned curiosity."

"Still!" Alica retorted. "Erin, you're protecting one of _them_. Have you forgotten what history taught us?"

"If you mean thousand years ago, no, I haven't forgotten. It is true that the light almost destroyed us." He glanced around, to make sure nobody listened except for the three of them. "But now our Darkness is trying to destroy their Light."

A gasp escaped the Dragoon's lips. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"The Crystals of light." Aria softly said. "They were darkened. A great earthquake pulled them into the darkness. Somebody darkened the crystals and stopped time on the surface world where I come from. The Darkness from this world is trying to overrun the Light of my world."

Alica bowed her head and it became silent again. Eventually she nodded. "It is true that our Crystal Shrine has been engulfed by a Cloud of Darkness… We cannot enter it anymore. Our Crystals are tainted as well."

"Somebody is trying to break the balance again, just like 1000 years ago. Only now darkness is used for such purpose." Erin added. "Aria came here unexpectedly. She told me the whole story. But she needs some answers as well, which is why I'm trying to get her to Archis unnoticed."

"Ah, I see. Going to visit Reicas, are you?"

"That's my plan, yeah." Then he looked at her a bit more suspiciously. "What about you Alica? Why are you here all of the sudden, looking for me?"

"Well, call it lucky coincidence. Reicas said I'd had to come looking for you. He wants to meet you and speak about some important matter."

"Why do I get the feeling this is just too absurd to be coincidence?" Erin asked Aria. She shrugged and smiled at him.

"You tell me. It must be fate."

The engines of the airship started and the ship began to shake a bit. Slowly the ship came loose from the ground and then they were off, on to the main continent of Archis. Soon the ship picked up speed and the wind played with the hairs and feathers of those standing on the deck. Falc screeched in joy. Aria noticed Alica standing at the bow of the ship, directly facing the strong winds. She slowly approached the Dragoon. She studied the dragonish armours and spear of the woman a bit. Unlike most Dragoons, Alica didn't wear the usual dragonhelm, allowing her fiery red hairs to be carried by the wind.

"I see you enjoy the wind." Aria said, coming not too close to the woman beside her. Alica's lips formed a smile as she silently nodded.

"Wind is the element of a dragon and the Dragoon. It engulfs our bodies and guides our jump. Wind is truly my element. I've always enjoyed it, more than anything else."

"Like Erin loves the fire and I do the water?" Aria asked, but she knew the answer.

"I guess so." Alica shrugged. She glanced at Aria. "You seem okay, for being of the World of Light."

"Not everyone is like the Ancients once were, Alica. In fact, that civilization died out, only a small village remains. A shadow of what once was."

"I know it's not nice to say, but I'm glad to hear that."

"Even with the Ancients gone, do not think the balance will never be threatened again. For right now, it is becoming unstable, despite the efforts of the Warriors of Light."

"Has it become so bad that your Crystals have chosen their carriers of Hope?"

Aria nodded and Alica fell silent. The Maiden of Water sighed deeply. "I don't blame you people." She said. "In fact, though I feel bad to say it, once again it is one of us who imperils the balance." She stared into nothingness and bit her lip. "But it's different. This time, it's not a civilization that has begun to think too highly of themselves… It's something else. Nothing but pure evil. This time it is not the doing of man's hands. Something else is coming… Something none of us could ever have imagined…"

"How do you know that?" Alica asked, looking a bit suspiciously at Aria. The Maiden of Water bowed her head.

"I don't know. It's a feeling I have. And most of the time I trust my feelings. I trusted my feelings when I gave my life. And I'm convinced that I did the right thing…" Again a crystal pure tear appeared in the corner or Aria's eye. The Dragoon stared at her, confused. What did she mean, 'gave her life'? Alica's ears caught a sound, well known to her.

"Aria, watch out!" Before Aria could say anything Alica had thrown her on the ground, just in time to avoid the claws of a Dragon to hit Aria. Alica drew her spear and called out to Erin.

"Erin, we've got a Dragon on our neck!"

"I noticed as much." Erin groaned as he drew his sword and sent forth Falc. Aria got on her feet, shaking. She glanced in the air, where a mighty Dragon flew, keeping up with the ship thanks to its mighty wings. Alica laid a hand on Aria's shoulder, to make sure she was alright.

"It's dangerous stuff now for a Maiden, better hide." The Dragoon turned, but Aria called her.

"Alica, wait." Quickly Aria chanted the right words and a yellow, magic light engulfed the Dragoon. Aria had cast protect on her. Alica gave the Maiden a thankful smile, then Jumped in the air and assaulted the dragon.

Aria ran over to Erin, who had put away his sword again and had drawn his bow. "Do ships often get attacked by things like these?" Aria questioned carefully. Erin shook his head and kept an eye on the dragon, which was clawing annoyed at a swift Alica.

"No. Usually these type of Dragons don't even appear here, only in the Mountains you'd find one. But lately, monsters have started appearing on places they'd never come."

"It is the same in my world." Aria commented. She prepared to chant another Protect spell, this time on Erin. "The monsters have grown wild, tainted by Evil." Aria thought as the magic light protectively engulfed Erin. "There's no doubt in my mind anymore now. Somebody is trying to purposefully ruin the Balance between Light and Dark… The fracture in the Balance is the only possible explanation for the monsters' behaviour. But I still wonder… Why is somebody trying to bring ruin upon us all?"

---

I'm terribly sorry for the long wait for this chapter. But okay, here's chapter four. There will be 10 chapters in total and an Epilogue. So enjoy and till the next one.


	5. The Continent of Archis

Never updated so quick before! Enjoy!

**5. The Continent of Archis**

Erin fired another arrow, but it bounced of the hard skin of the Dragon. The mighty looking beast was still being annoyed by a swift Alica, who flew through the air and jumped all over it, keeping it away from the airship. The Dragoon landed on the back of the dragon straight between its wings and slashed with her lance, but the skin of the beast was very strong and the attack did noting more then make it more annoyed and angry. It did a back flip and dropped Alica. The woman fell trough the air but landed safely on her two feet on the airship deck.

"Blast, that beast is awfully strong. Its skin is way too thick." Alica cursed. Erin glanced at her.

"You'd have to be able to sail straight at it with the full power of your jump and then thrust your spear in it. That would work."

"True." Alica panted. "But it doesn't give me that chance."

"I'll distract it, with some arrows." Erin said, biting his lip. He glanced at the Dragon, which was heading straight towards the ship now. "Better get ready."

Alica readied her lance and prepared to jump again. Aria noticed she already looked a bit exhausted. The Maiden chanted the right words and cast Cura on the Dragoon. Immediately Alica felt her exhaustion lessen quite a bit. She smiled at Aria again.

"It is good to have a healer at our side." The Dragoon commented. Erin then shouted:

"Alica, it's in my firing range!" He pointed an arrow at the Dragon, now closer than ever and fired. As soon as Erin fired it, Alica had jumped. The Dragoon soared through the air with amazing speed and agility, it amazed Aria. She almost passed the arrow. The Dragon saw two things speeding to it at once and became unsure of what to do. Then, before any could act, it fired a strong beam of energy out of its mouth, going straight to Alica and the airship. The Dragoon gasped and managed to change direction just in time. Aria fell on the ground as the airship sharply turned to avoid the Dragon's attack. Erin's strong hands grasped her before she could fall off and helped her up again.

"That didn't really work." Alica cursed as she landed again. "But now I'm really ticked off!" She raised her lance, focused for a while until the lance began to glow brightly. She then jumped again, straight at the mighty beast. The dragon avoided her easily, but that's what she had counted on. She threw her lance with all her might and this time, it did hit the Dragon. The energy the lance was charged with, unleashed itself on the dragon with such force that the scales cracked at the place of the impact, hurting the dragon. It let out a roar of fury. The Dragoon landed on the dragon and retrieved her lance. She then stabbed it deeply in the already open wound again, hurting the dragon even more. The Dragon growled again and clawed at her. Alica narrowly avoided the deadly claws, but a sudden slap of the wings knocked her off, unprepared. She saw the airship below her, but the Dragon above her. And the Dragon was a lot closer. The beast would kill her before she could land or change the direction of her fall. But the end she expected didn't come, for a black hunting bird that had pecked viciously in its right eye suddenly distracted the Dragon. The lips of Alica formed a smile.

"Erin really did a marvellous job with training Falc." She safely landed on the Airship again. "Praise your hunting bird, Erin!" Alica exclaimed as she took a deep breath.

"You don't have to remind me!" Erin smiled. "That boy saved my neck many times before! Did you manage to hit it?"

"Yeah." Alica replied. "A nice wound straight between its shoulders. Still not enough to take it down, though." She gripped her lance tightly again. "Guess I'll have to go in for another jump."

"Be careful." Aria pleaded, casting Cura again. Alica gave her an assuring smile.

"Don't worry, I'm trained for this kind of stuff." Then the Dragoon was off again, followed by some more arrows of Erin.

"This beast is really a hard nut." Erin cursed. "If only we had been better prepared for this."

"I hope Alica can do this." Aria added, looking worried at the Dragoon, who danced around the Dragon again. "I feel bad that we can't do much at this moment."

"I know." Erin sighed deeply. "I don't like it either." He placed another arrow on his bow and prepared to fire it as soon as the Dragon was within his firing range again. The Dragon was showing signs of exhaustion and weakness, but it was still clawing furiously at Alica, who was becoming tired as well. Defeating such a big dragon alone was not a small task. Erin managed to fire an arrow at the dragon again. It bounced off on the scales, but it did make the dragon look away for a few seconds. Long enough for Alica to thrust her spear into the wound again, which became deeper and deeper with every stab. The Dragon was loosing more and more blood and would hopefully soon collapse.

"I'm almost there…" Alica groaned. "It can't hold on much longer."

The Dragon was still strong enough, however, to flap with its wings suddenly and throw Alica off, then strike her fully with its claws. Alica soared through the air, to be caught in Erin's arms. Her armours had protected her, but she still had taken considerable damage.

"Aria!" Erin called to the Maiden, who immediately rushed over and chanted Cura. Alica painfully got on her feet again, leaning on her lance. Aria glanced at the Dragon and gasped. It was flying straight to the airship, while charging another energy beam in its mouth.

"We won't be able to avoid that Erin!" She shouted, pointing to the Dragon. Erin cursed, knowing his arrows wouldn't be able to let the Dragon change direction. Was it over?

Aria got an idea. It was a long, rough shot, but it was all left at this moment. She remembered that Refia once cast a spell like it, only a rank lower. She remembered some Priestesses being able to chant this spell. It was hard for her to remember the exact chanting, but she knew that if she got it right, the dragon would surely be halted.

"Aria! What are you doing!" Erin shouted, but she didn't pay attention. Her mind could only think of the spell. She closed her eyes and folded her hands in a praying manner and dug in her memory.

The Dragon got closer and closer, but Aria had fully remembered. She chanted the right words, opened her eyes and pointed her hands to the approaching dragon.

"Aeroga!!!"

The strongest version of wind-magic collided with the dragon and knocked it out of balance. Such was the force of the impact. The dragon was dazed. Alica saw her chance. She grabbed her lance, charged it and jumped, while Erin caught an exhausted Aria. Alica threw her charged lance straight to the heart of the dragon and pierced the monsters' scales, killing it. The Dragon roared its last roar and began to fall. Alica landed on the corpse, retrieved her lance and jumped away again, just as the monster started to fade in a wisp of energy. The Dragoon landed stylishly on the deck, but was exhausted. She glanced at Erin, still having Aria in his arms. She was breathing heavily.

"Is she alright, Erin?"

The Hunter of the Dark nodded. "She'll be. She's just exhausted of using a spell of a higher level than she was capable of."

"It still saved the day." Alica remarked. "That has got to be the strongest Aeroga I've ever seen. There's some great magic potential in that girl."

"I'm… flattered." Aria smiled, her voice being only a whisper. Erin sat against the reeling of the ship and held Aria close to him, so she could be a bit comfortable in recovering. Alica smiled at the sight.

"You truly are a big brother for her, aren't you?"

"I'd like to believe as much." He shrugged silently. Aria had her eyes closed, but she still heard everything and smiled.

"I don't remember my family." She whispered. "Having a big brother feels nice." She turned to look at him. "Is that alright, Erin?" Her eyes had something pleading. "Can I be your little sister?"

He nodded, his smile broadening. "Of course, if that makes you happy." He patted her head. "Now I'll protect you better than ever, Aria… Sister."

The Maiden of Water smiled and leaned against her new 'brother'. Then she fell in a deep sleep.

A while later, she was softly shaken awake by Erin. He smiled at her, his dark eyes shining with some kind of excitement and tenderness.

"Wake up little sister. We have arrived." She blinked a few times, then accepted his hand as he helped her up. Aria looked around. The airship had landed again, but this time not on a small airship port on a small, Jurmangund-infested island, but on what appeared to be a harbour of airships at the edge of a large, busy city.

"This is the airship harbour of Mosuniv. From here on, it'll be a mere day on chocobo to reach Reicas' cottage."

Aria shivered slightly. "I'm not sure about it Erin… I've never ridden a chocobo before."

"Don't worry." He smiled, laying a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "You can ride with me little sister. Or with Alice, whoever you prefer." He took her hand and guided her off the ship, where Alica stood waiting. Again the Dragoon smiled broadly at the sight of Erin being so protective and caring for his little 'sister'. She remembered he wasn't always as caring as that. But that was long, long ago. And the lonely Hunter did have to cope with great losses of his family years ago. And she knew all the friendship of his friends in the world couldn't fill that hole. But this girl from the World of Light. She could. In her Erin must have found something that gave him the same feeling as the family he lost.

"There you two are. Let's go."

"Hold on for a second, Alica." Erin stopped her. "I want to sell my loot first, and let Aria learn some more white magic as well."

Aria's face turned red. She didn't like the idea of Erin spending his money for her, again. But Erin didn't mind and so the three of them went into the city. Each of the two warriors from the Dark World stood on a side of Aria, trying to hide her a bit from sight. Even though both of them didn't mind her being from the World of Light, they were sure not everybody would be so open or friendly to the innocent Maiden of Water.

"Are you coming with us, Alica?" Aria asked while waiting outside a building were Erin was going to receive his fee for slaying all those Jurmangunds.

"Yes, I am. Reicas did ask me to come back with him. Said what he wanted to speak Erin about required me as well."

"I wonder what this Reicas wants to speak about. And if he can help me, like Erin hopes."

"Reicas is a wise guy, Aria." Alica told her. "He served the Crystals for a long time, communicated with them in a way no mortal ever did, understood the knowledge they gave him. He is very wise. A few years ago, when the Shrine already became darker, Reicas left to live alone in a cottage in the woods north of here. I think he fled from the darkening Cloud that has now engulfed our Shrine. I'm sure the Crystals warned him of that…"

"Maybe what he wants to speak you two about is about the Crystals?"

"Perhaps…" Alica bit her lip. "I don't know why, though. I mean, Erin and me aren't connected to the Crystals in any way. We're not Priestesses serving the Crystal, like you."

"The Crystals have chosen the Warriors of light in my World, a group of younglings that didn't know much of the Crystals either. The Crystals choose those who carry the fate to be chosen, no one else."

Alica patted her on the head. "You're a smart lass Aria. If only everybody in your world had been like you, thousand years ago."

Aria sighed deeply and bowed her head.

"There." Erin came out of the building, his poach no longer filled with the Jurmangund teeth. "That makes for some nice cash again. Now Aria, let's get you some more magic."

"If you insist." Aria replied politely. Her brother smiled.

"I do." He glanced at the Dragoon. "Alice, while we are gone, can you see if you can hire chocobos anywhere? Two will do."

"Sure." The Dragoon replied, turning to leave. "Won't be that hard. I'll wait for you at the city gate."

"We'll meet you there then." Erin agreed. Then the Dragoon walked off and Erin took Aria in the opposite direction. Erin wasn't a magic user, so he never had any reason to visit magic school-shops or even look for them, so it took him a while before he found one. Aria in the meantime took the chance to observe her surroundings. It had been very long ago since she was last surrounded by so much activity. The city seemed very normal, just like at home. It made her feel at ease a bit more. These people were just like her, only living in a world with darker colours and star fields between their lands instead of water.

Erin finally found what he was looking for and he and Aria went inside. Aria felt familiar with this type of buildings. It hadn't been that different to learn magic in the Temple of the Water Crystal. The Mage felt her great potential abilities and gladly taught her the ways of chanting Curaga and Raise, as well as perfecting her Protect and Aeroga chanting. Aria was amazed at how little effort it took to learn all these spells, but she felt more confident now that she had some sort of defence on her own, it being the Aeroga spell. After Erin paid, they left for the city gate, where Alica was waiting with two strong-looking chocobos. Aria climbed on a chocobo in front of Erin, brother and sister riding together. Alica couldn't help but grinned again. Erin glared at her.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just…" She almost started laughing hysterically. "You just look so cute Erin!"

Erin stared daggers at her, but when he heard Aria giggle slightly as well, he gave up.

"Alright, alright. Enough with the funny stuff, Dragoon!" He scolded her. "Get your behind on that Chocobo and lets be off!"

Alica, still shaking from laughter, climbed on her chocobo and then they were off, through the continent of Archis, to Reicas' cottage.

---

Five more chapters and an epilogue to go! But don't get sad that this is over. I'm planning to write a novelization of Final Fantasy III (DS) after this, so I'll keep writing about FF III anyway. Anyway, see you for the next chapter: "The Crystal Shard"!


	6. The Crystal Shard

Sorry for the delay, but here's chapter six. Enjoy!

**6. The Crystal Shard**

The journey on Chocobo went smoothly and Aria found herself enjoying the ride and the scenery very much. The feathers of the Chocobo were very soft and made her feel at ease. Erin's strong arms around her kept her from falling of. Besides them rode Alica, who now and then would throw an amused smile at the Hunter of the Dark. Erin tried to ignore it, which was a hard thing to do.

"I'm getting ticked off by her laughing." He hissed in Aria's ear. The Maiden of Water shook her head playfully.

"She means no offence with it… brother." The word brother came a bit hesitant over her lips, yet feels very comfortable at the same time. She smiled shyly at him and he smiled back. The change of him becoming her brother came so quick and yet she was already used to it. Aria sighed dreamily. For once, she considered herself to be very lucky.

They rode and rode through the continent and Aria noticed that the scenery began to change. Instead of wide-open plains, more and more trees began to fill the landscape. In the very distance she saw a thick green forest and she guessed that was where they were going.

"How long can we keep going like this?" she asked her brother. Erin bit his lip and thought for a while.

"Well, at this speed, I'd say we won't be there till night falls, but that was to be expected. I think we'll reach the forest over a few hours or so and by then it will get dark." He glanced at her, slightly worried. "Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded assuring. "Don't worry about me, brother. I'm fine, maybe still a bit tired, but I'll manage."

"If you need to rest, you have to tell us, Aria." Alica commented. The Maiden of Water shook her head.

"Don't let me be a hindrance. I'll keep going as long as you two keep going." She gave the both of them a confident smile. Alica was pleased with this answer and continued to look at the road ahead. Erin just shrugged.

---

As Erin of the Dark had predicted, they reached the forest by nightfall. Soon it was already to dark for Aria to see anything, yet Alica and Erin didn't seem to mind the dark. She guessed their eyes were used to the darkness of this world. She found that she herself too, had become used to this world already, yet still far from as much as Erin and Alica. The Maiden of Water became tired. Her eyes often closed. Erin noticed and smiled. He made a soft gesture to Alica.

"Aria's tired, lets rest here for tonight."

Alica stretched her arms and yawned. "Yeah well, I myself could use some sleep as well." The two warriors halted their Chocobos. Erin helped Aria to get of and unloaded some stuff from the gentle birds while Alica gathered some firewood. Erin told Aria that she just had to sit down and rest. For once, Aria didn't complain. She sank down on soft mosses between some tree roots. She barely could stay awake. A wave of warmth rushed over her, coming from Alica who had lit a campfire. Erin took some blankets and handed one to Aria. Gratefully his little sister accepted it. She spread it out on the ground close to the fire and laid down to rest. It didn't take long for Aria to fall asleep. Erin watched her fondly.

"You really have taken a liking to her." Alica commented, smiling broadly.

"Don't start with the mockery again." The Hunter warned shortly. The Dragoon simply shrugged.

"The truth is allowed to be said."

"I'm just worried about her, okay?" Erin snapped. "I've seen people die, I've seen my own family die, but never have I met somebody who has died. She was alone, confused and in trouble. It's only natural that I helped her."

"True. But is that all? My guess was that she actually means a lot more to you than just somebody in trouble that you helped out. I mean, you don't allow the first best person to call you 'brother', now do you?"

Erin sighed deeply and let himself drop on his back on the grass, folding his hands under his head. "I don't know Alica, I don't know. She doesn't remind me of my family at all and yet… it feels so natural for her to be my sister… To call her like that."

Alica looked from Erin to the sleeping Aria and frowned. "I have to admit though, that I'm happy for you. That you found somebody special in your life again, I mean." She glanced at him sideways. "You really have been living isolated the last years."

He made an annoyed gesture with his hands. "It's how I preferred to live. Deal with it."

"Oh, I deal with it alright. It's just strange that you gave that all up to help a girl from the World of Light."

"First time I hear you say the name of that world without bitterness." He remarked teasingly.

"What?" she snapped. He shot her a glare to lower her voice, pointing weakly to Aria. In a softer tone, she continued: "She proved that we shouldn't exaggerate. Not everybody in that place is bad, she proves it. I can admit I'm wrong when I am wrong."

"Very honourable of you."

"As honourable as you aiding her and allowing her to call you 'brother'." She retorted. Both of them fell silent.

After a long silence, Alica bowed her head and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Erin."

"Can't blame you." The Warrior of the Dark replied, shrugging. He glanced at her. "Better get some sleep, Alica."

She stretched herself a bit and yawned. "Yeah, I could use that, it was a pretty exhausting day." The dragoon laid down on her blanket and soon drifted into a refreshing, deep sleep. Erin sighed deeply, his eyes having a solemn look in them. He heard a soft screech and looked up, seeing Falc. His lips formed a soft smile as he motioned the bird to come to him. The bird landed softly on Erin's shoulder and rubbed his head against his master's cheek, making a soft noise. Erin patted Falc on the head.

"Yeah, I think so too, Falc."

---

Dawn came and woke the three. Alica looked refreshed thanks to the sleep and Aria had slept well too. After having a quick breakfast, they packed everything, loaded it all on their chocobos and they were off again.

"Don't worry Aria, we'll be there by afternoon." Erin assured his little sister. Aria smiled innocently.

"I hope so Erin. I really want some answers."

Erin hadn't been too far off in his guess. After they had rested and eaten a bit when it had become midday, they rode further again, only to see a small cottage between the trees after an hour or so. Alica tied the birds to a tree, while Erin guided Aria to the cottage.

"He lives here?" Aria wondered aloud. "All by himself, in the middle of the woods?"

"Yes." Erin nodded. "After he fled from the Crystal Temple, he always preferred to live in solitude."

The hunter then knocked on the door. A raspy, old but not unfriendly voice came through the wood of the door.

"Enter."

Erin opened the door and went inside, followed by Aria and Alica. Reicas looked up from the book he had been reading. He glanced at Erin.

"I see Alica really did haste herself for once." The man remarked emotionlessly.

Aria quietly observed him. He looked quite old, but not terribly old either, maybe midway the sixties. Nevertheless, he had a long white beard together with long white hair and eyebrows. His eyes were emerald-green and sharp, and she knew that not many would be able to look in those eyes for long. He was dressed in a black priest's robe and appeared to be quit skinny. His skin was pale, almost white, as well.

Reicas then noticed Aria and gasped, his eyes widened with surprise and shock. He stood up from the chair he had been sitting on and stepped towards them. Aria grew a bit afraid and did a few steps back, only to bump into Alica, who shoved her forward again.

"Erin…" Reicas said slowly, his voice sounding pleasantly surprised. He took the arm of the hunter. "You found her! Without even knowing you had to look for her! You found her, oh this is wonderful news. Wonderful indeed!"

He walked towards Aria, took her hand and bowed his head respectfully. "Miss Aria from the World of Light, I bid you welcome to my humble cottage."

"A… A pleasure, I… I'm sure." She stuttered. The wise man looked her straight in the eye, but his gaze was not crushing or fierce like she had expected it to be. She found herself very capable of bearing this gaze. Satisfied, Reicas turned away from her and nodded to Alica.

"Young Dragoon, it is good that your rapid tongue was carried by rapid feet for once!" He walked back to his table. "Yes… Yes, wonderful indeed."

Erin did a step forward, bearing a puzzled expression on his face. "Reicas, mind telling us what exactly is so wonderful?"

"Yes… Yes…" The old man nodded. He pointed to three empty chairs at the table and motioned them to sit down. After they did, he went on. "You saved us precious time by bringing Aria with you already, Erin."

"You know my name, you even knew I am in this world… How?" Aria hesitatingly asked. Reicas smiled warmly to her, an expression that made her feel at ease.

"Ah, young Maiden of Water, I did indeed, expect you. For I was warned of your arrival." He turned around and reached with his arm to a pedestal behind his chair. Carefully and respectfully, he grabbed the thing that laid on it and placed it on the table. Aria gasped. She hadn't noticed it when she entered, but now that it laid in front of her she knew what she was seeing.

"Yes." Reicas nodded. "This is a Crystal Shard. A shard of the Crystal of Water, to be precise. When darkness began to consume the temple and I had to flee, the Crystals granted me this Shard so that I would always be able to hear their words." He looked at Aria. "It was this Shard that told me you would come."

"But… But how did the Shard know?"

"Young Maiden, the Dark Crystals themselves were what called you here." Reicas replied.

"Even… Even though I am… _dead_?" Aria slowly asked, now afraid of what the answer would be.

"Dead?" For the first time, it looked like Reicas didn't know what she was talking about. "Explain, young Maiden of Water."

And so Aria retold the tale of what happened at the Light Crystal of Water, her sacrifice and the taking of her life at the hands of the Kraken, Xande's assassin. When she was finished, Reicas seemed deeply impressed and he was totally silent. After a long, haunting silence, he opened his eyes again and spoke.

"I fear that I do not know the answer to the question that you so badly want an answer on: are you alive or do you belong to the realm of the afterlife?" He bowed his head. "Nay, I do not know this answer, forgive me for that." He looked up and caught her gaze again. "The only one who can answer your question is the Dark Crystal of Water."

"But… But this is a Crystal Shard of the Dark Crystal of Water…" Aria protested. "Shouldn't it know the answer I so long for?!" She felt tears creeping up in the corners of her eyes. Erin quickly grabbed her hand and Alica patted her arm, both trying to comfort her.

"Aria." She looked up, sobbing, to Reicas. "I understand your sadness and uncertainty, but please listen to what I have to say. You might still be able to get your answer."

She wiped her tears away and nodded. Erin kept holding her hand.

"By now you know that I expected her, but I did not expect you to bring her with you when I asked Alica to come and get you, Erin." Reicas continued.

"But why did you summon me, Reicas?" Erin asked quickly.

"Ironically." Reicas smiled. "I summoned you to send you out on a search for Aria." All three of them looked with wide eyes to Reicas, who just shrugged. "But now that is no longer needed, seeing you already found her. This means we have more time."

"More time for what?" Alica questioned, glancing at Reicas.

"More time to defeat the Cloud of Light." Was Reicas answer.

---

Only 4 chapters and an epilogue to go and this story is over. And then I can get started on my FF III novelization. I'm pretty excited to start writing that one, so expect the next chapters of this epic more quickly (hopefully). But okay, for now, on to chapter 7 "Siyil".


	7. Siyil

And here's chapter seven. Enjoy.

**7. Siyil**

"The Cloud of What?!" Alica stammered, not understanding. Reicas sighed deeply, looking very troubled.

"Do you remember the story of what happened thousand years ago?" The old man then asked. Erin nodded, as did Alica.

"Everybody knows what happened then. The Warriors of the Dark stopped the Flood of Light and saved both worlds."

"True, Erin." Reicas nodded. "But what many of you don't know is that the Warriors of the Dark saved our world from more than the Flood of Light. They saved our world from a fearsome power called the Void." The three younglings gave the elder a confused look. Reicas explained: "Out of the Void, our worlds were born. Light and Dark keep each other in precious balance. But when the balance ceases to exist, something awful will be born out of the Void. Thousand years ago, the Flood of Light broke the balance and the imbalance between the two forces created the Cloud of Darkness. An entity who's sole purpose is to return all to nothing, both light and dark."

"And the Warriors of the Dark managed to destroy this Cloud of Darkness?" Aria asked carefully. Reicas shook his head.

"Not really, for what the Warriors of the Dark fought and defeated was not the Cloud of Darkness. What they did defeat, however, was the Cloud of Light." Their eyes went wide. "There are two Clouds, one of Light and one of Darkness. Thousand years ago a flood of light existed, strengthening the Cloud of Light, weakening the Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Light tried to bring all back to the Void but was defeated by the Warriors of the Dark." The old man paused to catch his breath. "But the Warriors of the Dark were unaware of the existence of the Cloud of Darkness. And if one Cloud lives, the other will live as well." He studied their faces for a little while. "Now the balance is broken yet again. The Crystals of Light are darkened and a Flood of Darkness is forming. The greater amount of Darkness in the universe has strengthened the Cloud of Darkness, which has returned from the Void to return both worlds to nothingness…"

"I see what you're getting at." Erin remarked. "The Warriors of Light have been chosen by the Crystals of Light and they will come to face the Cloud of Darkness some time in the future. But the Cloud of Light still exists, so even if they defeat the Cloud of Darkness, it will live on because the Cloud of Light still lives."

"Exactly!" Reicas exclaimed, making Aria and Alica jump in surprise. "If the Cloud of Light is not defeated, the Cloud of Darkness will live on even after defeat. And that is why I needed you three here. The Dark Crystals have chosen four Warriors to defeat the Cloud of Light."

"US?!" Alica shouted. She almost fell backwards out of her chair. Reicas expression didn't change though, he still had a serious look on his face.

"Yes Alica. You, Erin and Aria, the Crystals have chosen you three and Siyil to go and fight the Cloud of Light and defeat it. So when the warriors of Light destroy the Cloud of Darkness, it will be gone forever and the threat of the Void will be reduced immensely."

"Who's Siyil?" Erin demanded softly. He hadn't heard that name before.

"My nephew." Reicas replied. "A skilful Magus, you'll appreciate the help he will give you, Erin."

"I don't understand, though." Aria whispered, making everybody look at her. "Why did the Dark Crystals choose me? I am from the world of Light."

"The Dark Crystals picked the younglings with the strongest affection to an element." Reicas explained. "Erin is Fire, Alica is Wind, and Siyil is Earth. Maybe they did not find one with the correct qualities in this world for Water and they took you instead."

"I suppose that makes sense…" Aria nodded. "But the confusion about my fate, dead or alive, makes me wonder about your theory. If I'm dead, did the Dark Crystals resurrect me? If I'm alive, then how did I survive?"

Reicas laid his hand on hers. "Aria, lend us your strength. To find a way to the Cloud of Light, you must first travel to the Crystal Temple, where the Dark Crystals rest. If you go, they might give you the answer."

The Maiden of Water fell silent for a long while. Everybody could see that she was thinking. Then she closed her eyes and nodded, her mind made up.

"I'll go."

Erin laid a hand on her shoulder. "If my little sister goes, I'll go as well."

"Count me in." Alica said.

"Wonderful." Reicas smiled, his face beaming. "Now that you all have accepted this quest, each for your own reasons, you must go, for there is no time to waste. The Clouds have to be slain at the same time and the Warriors of Light will soon come to confront the Cloud of Darkness." He stood up and laid the crystal shard back on its pedestal. "You must hurry to the Crystal Temple and the Cloud of Light. But first you must find Siyil. He is waiting for you at the foot of the mountain north of here. He'll know how to get to the temple."

They stood up and thanked Reicas. He then almost shoved them outside. But they could understand his hurry. The fate of both worlds now rested on their shoulders as well. They were the new Warriors of the Dark and they had a task to complete. So they said goodbye to Reicas, got on their Chocobos and rode towards the northern mountain, where the fourth Warrior of the Dark was waiting for them. Reicas' nephew Siyil.

"How far do you think it is until we reach the mountain?" Aria asked while they were riding. Erin looked up and gazed ahead of him, trying to get a good view of the mountain range in the north. After a while he responded:

"I don't really know. My guess is a day or less." Aria was satisfied with this answer and looked ahead of her. They were all silent, not really talking. Especially Alica was unnaturally quiet.

"Is something wrong, Alica?" Aria finally asked. The Dragoon shook her head slowly.

"It's just…" She bit on her lip. "It all went so fast, don't you agree? Reicas overwhelmed me. One moment he goes on and one with his serious speech, the next moment we're the new Warriors of the Dark. I find it hard to grasp it all."

"You're not the only one." Erin remarked silently. "But did we really have a choice? I agree that it all went so quick but… If we had refused, the Void will never be defeated. Besides, I still do this mainly for Aria. We need to go to the Dark Crystals so Aria can get her answers. Once we have those, I'll put my mind on this Cloud of Light."

"That's one way of dealing with it." Alica sighed. "I just need a little more time."

"None will refuse you that." Erin replied. They then rode on in silence, leaving Alica to order her thoughts. Aria could understand the Dragoon. She didn't fully grasp it herself either. She never imagined her, a girl from the World of Light to become a Warrior of the Dark. She had said yes to Reicas because she wanted answers. But she began to realise that she had said yes and that she would have to join Erin, Alica and this Siyil in the battle against the Cloud of Light. Had she been too impulsive? She shook her head. It had been the right decision. Luneth and the others had accepted the call of the Crystals as well. Their lives too had changed suddenly. But regardless of that they still fought. Fought as Warriors of Light. And if they could handle that sudden change of destiny, so could she. She would fight as a Warrior of the Dark. As soon as she received the answer she so longed for, at least.

After a long ride and one night rest, the three Warriors of the Dark arrived at the edge of the forest, at the foot of the mountains. Aria looked with interest to these might wonders of nature. The stone in this world was dark grey, almost black and on the highest top she could see white-grey snow. Yes, everything was dark in the World of Darkness. But not evil dark, but dark in a charming, natural and even beautiful way. She breathed in deeply the pure mountain air.

"So where do we go now, you think, Erin?" she asked her big brother. Erin of the Dark didn't answer. He unsheathed his sword and started following a path leading into the mountains, motioning Alica, who held her spear, and Aria to follow him.

"Does he think something is wrong?" the Maiden of Water whispered to Alica. The Dragoon gave her a calming glance.

"He's just being careful. Even though we're just at the foot of the mountain, there can still be monsters."

"What kind of monsters? Strong ones?" Aria shivered. She had her spells, but she still felt unsure about fighting. She had always been trained to aid and support. She hoped that this would be her role during their newfound mission as well.

"Oh, most of the time griffons or rock beasts. But if we're out of luck, we might encounter dragons that are a lot tougher than the one that attacked the airship."

Aria swallowed hard.

"Relax!" The Dragoon cheered. "This time we're being careful, knowing an attack can occur. Monsters won't have the element of surprise at their side this time."

Aria didn't feel any less nervous. Erin, who had gone ahead a bit, came back to them, his face relieved.

"No monsters in sight. Come on, I think I saw where we need to go."

He took Aria's hand and the three of them went up the path into the mountains.

"Is it far?" Aria questioned. Erin gave her a smile.

"You like asking the length of distances, don't you?"

"Sorry brother." She put her hands on her hips. "I just like to know details."

"Don't blame you, I was just joking." He patted her head and walked on. Aria gave him a puzzled look. This had been the first time he had 'joked'. She wondered if he was getting used to this brother and sister relationship they had going on. When she and Alica caught up with him again, though, he again had that serious and somewhat dark expression on his face.

"It's up there, I'm sure of it." The Warrior of the Dark said two the two girls, pointing up to a cave entrance o a higher ridge. "I've seen a figure appearing in the entrance from time to time. Guess he's our man."

The Maiden of Water looked at the entrance in the distance, but she did not see anything. The entrance was too dark for her to see anything.

"Well, let's get going. Had Reicas been here, he would already have died from impatience." Erin concluded, continuing on his way.

The Path led straight to the entrance of the cave, but when they were barely a few metres away from it, a meteor dropped out of nowhere on the path before them, making them jump back.

"Return from where you came." A voice, young but serious and determined, shouted at them. Erin glanced at the cave entrance, as did his two female companions. Aria saw a figure stepping into the open, wearing dark blue clothes, black boots and cape. He had a necklace that was decorated with dragon teeth and in his right hand he held a beautiful, powerful staff, in his left a cruelly looking dagger. He was no older than seventeen.

"This cave leads to nothing but peril, turn back, no one is allowed to enter." The young man barked.

"You mean it leads to the Dark Crystals, Siyil." Erin snorted, not impressed. Aria realised that the meteor from before had been the Meteor spell, probably cast by Siyil. She knew it was a spell belonging to the highest level of black magic, meaning that he was indeed a powerful wizard. The young men fell silent and eyed them curiously.

"How do you know my name?" he finally asked.

"Your uncle Reicas send us."

"Are you three, by chance, my three intended companions for this not so light task I have to perform?" Siyil slowly asked. Aria saw he didn't fully trust it, that he was ready to cast a spell at any moment.

"We are, Siyil." Aria replied, stepping forward, despite Erin's efforts to push her back. She nodded to the young Magus. "I am Aria, Maiden of Water."

"Uncle said that one of my companions would be someone pure of heart and not of this world." He bit his lip. "I see, he meant you, there's no mistake about that. I can feel it." Finally he lowered his weapons and the magical tension around him. Relief fell over all of them. He mentioned them to come closer.

"I'm the Magus Siyil, and I have a strong affection for Earth." He bowed slightly of them and they murmured their greetings. Siyil then nodded towards the opening of the cave.

"At the end of this tunnel lies a portal to the Crystal Temple. That's where we have to go first."

"Then let's be off." Aria said, her voice louder than she had expected. "I want to know the answer on my question, and these Crystals are the only ones who can tell me."

With that, the Maiden of Water hurried into the darkness, soon followed by the three other new Warriors of the Dark. And as they walked, Alica and Erin told a confused Siyil all about the answered Aria so desperately was looking for.

---

I am aware of the fact that everything has gone a bit fast in this chapter and I'm sorry for that, it's just that I'm determined to finish this story as soon as possible so I can start on my next FF III fanfiction project, which I want to write very badly.

So on to chapter eight "The Dark Crystals"!


	8. The Dark Crystals

This is chapter 8, meaning obnly 2 chapters and an epilogue to go (I think).

**8. The Dark Crystals**

"I see…" Siyil said slowly, understandingly nodding. He glanced at Aria. "So that is what happened."

"It was not a pleasant experience." Aria pointed out sharply. The Magus just shrugged.

"I'm not afraid of death." He told her. She shot him a dark glare.

"I wasn't, either. Until the moment finally was there. And believe me, Siyil, once it is there, you don't think of brave words or anything anymore." She bowed her head, shaking slightly from both grief and anger. "The only thing you can think of is the fact that you realise that it's over. A few more seconds, you realize, and you are gone. In darkness forever."

"But you're not in eternal darkness." He remarked. "You are here, and while it may not be as bright as your world, you can't call it dark here."

Their footsteps echoed through the cave. The path of the four was illuminated by the tip of Siyil's staff. He held it up and walked in front of the group with Aria at his side, continuing their discussion.

"I'm not saying it's dark here. I'm saying that dark is where you end up in death."

"You can't be sure." Siyil protested, looking thoughtfully in front of him. "You had no sense of time in the darkness. You may very well have been floating between death and life, or between our two worlds. Maybe you never died at all."

"That's what I'd like to find out." Aria sighed. "This… This not-knowing is killing me."

"Wrong expression." Erin mused from behind her. Aria immediately knew what he meant.

"Sorry, brother."

Erin of the Dark came walking beside Aria, laying a hand on her shoulder. He and Falc gazed down in Aria's eyes. "Talking about death like this is not good for your spirit, Aria." The Hunter shared a look of understanding with Siyil. "You better quit this talk."

"But…" Aria began, but her big brother didn't allow her to finish that sentence.

"Sister, listen well to me. Until we've found out the truth, you are alive, okay? So no confusion about death or life, you belong with the living." His voice was hard, but that was because her confusion and doubt hurt him too. And they all knew that. A long and pressing silence fell. Until Alica, who had been silent ever since Aria and Siyil had begun talking about life and death, broke the fragile silence.

"Let us just continue on. The Dark Crystals await at the end of this path. Your question shall be answered there, Aria." The Dragoon tried to sound assuring, but Aria didn't fail to notice the unsure tone in Alica's words. Still, the Maiden of Water was glad for the support. She turned to the Magus.

"How much further is it, Siyil?"

Siyil looked at the walls of the tunnel, then glanced over his shoulder until finally his gaze rested on the road ahead of them.

"The portal to the Crystal Temple is not that far anymore. If we hurry, we could be there within twenty minutes." That being said, he strode on, followed by his fellow Warriors of the Dark.

After a few minutes, Aria felt something constricting her chest. She wasn't sure if it was fear or just suspicion, but nevertheless she decided to inform Erin.

"Brother, isn't it strange that we haven't encountered any monsters so far? They are all over our two worlds, why not in this cave?"

Erin's eyes got a serious look. It was as if only now he realized she was right, there was something fishy.

"Siyil, where there any monsters before in this cave?" He asked the nephew of Reicas. The Magus halted his pace and turned to face them.

"Why, now that you mention it, there were… Nothing I couldn't handle with some spells but there were…" He smiled at Aria. "I'm glad at least one of us had the brain to notice it."

Alica grabbed her lance. "We should proceed with caution, we've broken a very important rule of combat, let's not break it any further."

They nodded to each other and went on. Siyil went around the corner and they followed. And they slammed into him, for he had stopped abruptly. He glanced over his shoulder and gave them a weak smile.

"Fantastic news, fellows: I've found out that there's no need for caution anymore. There are no monsters left. Except for this three-headed Jurmangund, of course."

Aria looked past him and gasped, a shiver running down her spine. Before them, were the tunnel grew wider, the biggest snake Aria ever saw in her life laid, its three pair of eyes observing them curiously. Not every day four snacks practically waltzed almost straight in his three maws. A gulp of Alica broke the horrifying silence.

And then they were on their legs, weapons drawn and magic ready. The three headed serpent reared up as high as it could in the cave and hissed at them. Erin, Falc and Alica charged at it, while Siyil pushed Aria behind him.

"You're our White Magic user, leave the damage dealing to us." He told her. She didn't complain, for she knew he was right.

Siyil then showed his skills as a Magus, unleashing a searing Flare spell at the middle head. The spell did its work and the head appeared to be furiously burned and wounded. It didn't stop the monster, however. Unexpectedly it's massive tail swept over the floor and threw them all, except for Falc on the ground. The three headed beast crept closer to them, ready to kill. Erin's hunting bird hopped onto the middle head however, and pecked happily on it. Annoyed the left head reared up and tried to bite the hunting bird. Falc was smarter than that however, and flew away, making the left head hit the middle instead. The beast, enraged by its own stupidity, roared and then all three of its heads unleashed fire breaths in all directions. The fire approached the Warriors of the Dark rapidly, but Siyil quickly chanted a Blizaga spell, forming a wall of ice between them and the fire. When the ice was gone Erin and Alica immediately rushed forward. Alica jumped and came down with her lance on the right head, stabbed it straight through the skull, killing the head. The monster, crying in pain, left open a wonderfully soft belly at which Erin gladly slashed, making a deep wound. The two remaining heads recovered quicker than expected however and when the mighty tail swept over the ground again, they were quick to open their horrifying jaws and dive towards the two fallen warriors.

Unfortunately for the serpent, Siyil and Alica still existed. And while the creature had three heads, it was still one being. Reicas' grandson chanted Flare yet again, which was quickly followed by an Aeroga spell of Aria. This gave Erin and Alica enough time to recover, press forward and kill yet another head. The middle one was all that was left, but when it tried to grab Erin, it suddenly felt a terrible pain in its right eye. Falc had proven yet again just how useful he could be. Erin took advantage of the serpent's distraction and with a mighty strike of his sword, which amazed himself, he severed the head of the body. The body of the three headed Jurmangund fell lifelessly on the floor.

Siyil took a deep breath, then dusted himself off. "Well… That wasn't so bad."

Erin sheathed his sword and glared at him, but said nothing. Alica got on her feet again and put her lance on her back. Aria gave the corpse of the monster a quick glance and then looked away. The sight made her feel sick. And the fight had also worried her a bit. She walked over towards her brother. He immediately noticed she was concerned.

"What's wrong little sister?" He put an arm around her comfortingly and she was glad for it. She looked up to him.

"I wonder, brother. Are we strong enough to defeat the Cloud of Light?"

She saw how her question made Erin somewhat… concerned as well. He didn't say anything for a long while and even after that long while he still didn't know what to answer. Siyil took the word.

"Don't forget that the Cloud of Light is weakened, Aria. Remember, a Flood of Darkness is happening, strengthening the Cloud of Darkness, weakening the Cloud of Light." He tried to look somewhat assuring, but Aria felt he too was worried, be it very slightly.

"I think we have a chance." Alica said, raising her voice slightly. "Otherwise the Crystals wouldn't have waited so long to give us this task. If we really aren't ready to face this Cloud, I'm sure the Dark Crystals would have given us more time to prepare."

"That makes sense." Aria admitted. She let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry to trouble you all, again."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Siyil smiled.

Erin nodded and patted her shoulder in a comforting way. He glanced at the Magus. "How much further, Siyil?"

"Really not far anymore." The Magus replied. "Let's continue, if everybody's ready."

They were, and so the group moved on, deeper into the cave. Until the tunnel ended in a small round cavern that contained only one thing: a teleport circle in the centre of the room. Siyil said nothing, only stepped onto the circle, closely followed by the others. Aria took a deep breath when she stepped on the circle, for she never really had used any form of teleportation. Erin held her hand, though. Aria closed her hand and they were warped away.

When the Maiden of Water opened her eyes again, she gasped when she saw her surroundings. They were standing in a large teleport circle that laid on a large crystal platform. Around them, four paths spread out in four different directions, forming a cross. At the end of each of those path laid another teleportation circle. Under them, there were dark clouds with a sickening purple colour. They could not see the rest of the World of Darkness anywhere. Only eternity filled with stars and dark clouds. The New Warriors of the Dark had arrived in the Crystal Temple of the World of Darkness.

Siyil stepped out of the circle, looking around. They could see he was nervous and they knew why. They all felt nervous. For through the circle on the centre platform, they could feel the presence of evil. Something dark, evil, ominous, fathomless and full of sorrow. They could feel the presence of a great evil that was born out of the Void and only wished to return both worlds to that state. They could feel the presence of the Cloud of Darkness. Aria hurried of the circle towards Siyil.

"Which way to the Water Crystal?" she whispered. Besides the Cloud of Darkness' presence, she could feel that there were monsters lurking here as well. The Magus didn't immediately answer and glanced around, as if trying to orient himself. Then he nodded and pointed to the south-west path.

"That way, I'm certain of it."

"Let's go then." Erin said, stepping towards them, followed by Alica the Dragoon. "Before we run into something we'd rather avoid."

Nothing else needed to be said. They understood the urgency of the situation and their position. Erin leaded the group with Alica closing the ranks, keeping the two mages relatively safe between the two warriors.

The next teleportation circle led them to another path, that had four sideways. Only were those sideways covered by the dark purple clouds, hiding the circle that led to the Crystal from sight. Everybody looked hopefully to Siyil. He looked at the path and bit his lip.

"Uncle told me which path it was once… Now if only I could remember…" He tapped his foot and the frown on his forehead deepened. Then he looked up and smiled relieved. "The third sideway will take us to the Crystal."

"Are you sure?" Alica asked. She knew it wasn't the time for mistakes. The ever haunting presence of the Cloud of Darkness scared them, even if they didn't even know how it looked like. And they were aware that monsters, born out of the purple clouds, were watching them, or were lurking around.

"I'm hundred percent sure." Siyil assured her. "Now can we please hurry on? I'll admit that this place makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"You're not the only one who feels like that." Erin added, leading the way again.

When they walked through the purple clouds that covered their path, they held each others hands just not to loose each other. They carefully watched their steps, for the path was small and thanks to the dark clouds could hardly be seen. The only one who wasn't hindered in any way by the clouded path was Falc. He flew above the heavy clouds and occasionally screeched, assuring them that he was still alive and that there were no monsters in sight. Eventually they emerged at the other side of the path and the clouds. And in front of them laid the teleportation circle that would lead them to the Dark Crystal of Water. As it laid so in front of her, Aria suddenly couldn't wait anymore. The question weighed down so heavily on her, the answer was just a few steps ahead. The pressure became too much and she ran towards the circle. Erin glanced at the others and they all nodded. Quickly they ran after her. Aria had already warped away.

When her three companions also arrived in the next place however, they found Aria standing very still. Her face had an expression of pure terror. There in front of her was the Dark Crystal of Water. However, in front of it, was a great, powerful and evil fiend. Out of a rift in the dimension high above the crystal floor, it hung down, its legs, if it had those, not visible. A huge snake wrapped itself around the skinny, green-scaled human body. The long arms of the fiend, hung down and almost touched the ground, the claws at the end of each finger were coloured red with blood. Dirty blond hair fell down the human head that was green-scaled like the rest of the body. Its eyes were yellow and snake like and its mouth hung half-open, revealing a forked tongue.

It was the fiend Echidna.

"It's… petrified…" Alica whispered. Aria blinked. Indeed the Echidna was motionless. The great fiend wasn't petrified like Alica thought it was, but it was motionless regardless, like it was frozen in time. Erin slowly walked up to Aria, keeping a sharp eye on the frozen fiend.

"Aria, you alright?"

She slowly nodded, then let out a sigh of relief. "I was just startled."

"What you did was reckless." Siyil pointed out, sounding slightly angry.

"But why is the fiend frozen?" Alica asked, glancing uneasily at the vicious Echidna. Siyil studied it from a distance and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes and replied:

"The presence of the Cloud of Darkness, I can no longer feel it, or no longer so haunting…" He looked at Echidna once more. "Maybe that's why. Maybe the Fiends that guard the crystals are in some way connected to the Cloud of Darkness' presence and now that she's no longer here, they are useless until she return." He smiled apologizing at Alica. "That's all I can come up with."

"It's good enough for me." The Dragoon replied. "I don't really need an explanation, as long as it remains frozen it is fine." Alica's gaze then fell on Aria. "Aria, this is your chance."

Aria nodded and looked shyly at her brother, then at the crystal. "Will you come with me?"

The Hunter of the Dark nodded. He took her hand and slowly the two went around the frozen Echidna towards the Dark Crystal of Water. Only a few steps away from it, Erin let her go further alone. Aria slowly walked on until she was barely a feet away from the Crystal, then she kneeled down and bowed her head.

_Maiden from the darkened land…You have come._

Aria nodded, but did not look up. She swallowed hard. She collected all her courage and dared to ask her question. It was now that she would get her answer. The Crystal knew the answer, it would have to tell her. It had to tell her, if it hoped that she could be useful in the battle against the Cloud of Light.

"Crystal of Water." Aria whispered, her voice shaking. "I have come to ask you a question that plagues my soul every minute of the day…" She hesitated. "Where do I belong?" Another pause indicating uncertainty and fear. "In the world of the living, or in the world beyond it?" She closed her eyes, fighting against the tears. "Crystal of Water, please answer me. Am I still alive?"

---

Cliffhanger-ish stuff. Bad me, I know. I hope to finish this before the end of August. I better start writing on the next chapter then. On to chapter 9 "The Realm of Emptiness"!


	9. The Realm of Emptiness

Yes, I couldn't finish the story before august was over. Something intervened with that plan. Regardless, I _hope_ to finish this fanfic this week and start writing on my novelization of Final Fantasy III this week as well. Anyway, enjoy chapter nine!

**9. The Realm of Emptiness**

It became silent after Aria's question. Time seemed to pass agonizingly slow for the Maiden of Water. Every second seemed to last forever. Until she could hear that voice again, the voice of the Crystal. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, biting on her teeth. The answer on that horrid question… Would she finally get it?

_Maiden of the Darkened land…May this answer ease your soul…Your place is still among…The living…_

The silence was broken as a gasp escaped Aria's lips. An incredible heavy load dropped of her shoulders as an insanely big relief started to spread itself through her body and mind. She was alive.

She lived!

Aria tried to say something but couldn't find any words. Behind her, her three companions all let out a sigh of relief as well. The burden Aria had carried, they all had carried a bit of it as well. Erin was the first to act again, walking up to her and placing a hand on the shoulder of his younger sister. She turned her head to look at him, still unable to speak. He extended his hand, to help her on her feet. She took it and as he pulled her up, it felt to her as if she was pulled out if a deep dark pit into the light again.

When she stood on her feet again, Erin smiled at her.

"Welcome in the world of the living."

And finally she found her voice back. She smiled shyly at the warrior of the dark. "Thank you, brother…"

Sitting on Erin's shoulder, Falc squeaked and looked into her eyes. Aria gave the bird a smile and slowly ran her hand over the Hunting Bird's head. Somehow, this animal knew what she had been through.

"Thank you too, Falc." Aria smiled, which earned her a grateful squeak from the bird.

Still, with one question answered, there came a second question that needed answering. Aria turned back to the Crystal, relieved, but still somewhat confused.

"But… how?"

_We, the Dark Crystals and our counterparts, the Light Crystal, wish to prevent history from repeating itself…That the horrendous Clouds of Light and Darkness would survive despite the efforts of Light's chosen Warriors. And so, we Dark Crystals, searched for those carrying the strongest affinity for an element. _

Aria knew Erin, Alica and Siyil all had a strong affinity for Fire, Wind and Earth respectively and that that was why the Crystals of those Elements had chosen them. But why had the Dark Crystal of Water chosen her?

_But as I searched through the World of Darkness, I could feel a faint presence coming from somewhere not of this world, carrying the spirit of Water. The affinity you hold for the Element I represent was stronger than any presence in this world. And it was I who brought back your fading spirit from its journey towards the Great Spirit beyond, to this World. I had no choice but to choose you and for such, you needed to be revived. _

Aria bowed her head, finally understanding. She muttered a silent word of gratitude. Alica, Siyil, Erin and Falc now all came to stand besides her and the four new Warriors of the Dark looked up to the Crystal, knowing that their last task would now be placed upon them.

_Darkness__ comes ever closer to engulfing the Light. The Cloud of Darkness has journeyed beyond this world to face the Warriors of Light. It is up to you now to travel to the core of The Realm of Emptiness, the Void itself, to face the weakened Cloud of Light and destroy it. You hold the strength necessary for that task…And I will bless you with my Light…_

Light fell down from the Crystal and engulfed them. And when the four Warriors were bathed in the Crystal's light, they could feel its fears and hopes. More than ever they felt the need to do what it begged from them. Taking peace with their destiny, they listened to the Crystal's last words.

_The portal behind me shall take you to The Realm of Emptiness…Warriors of the Dark…Aid the Warriors of Light in their quest to bri__ng Hope back to these Worlds…_

After those words, the Crystal fell silent, but the new Warriors of the Dark knew what they had to do. They stood in a circle, to talk about their task one last time.

"We better hurry." Erin said. "You heard the Crystal; the Cloud of Darkness has already gone to face the Warriors of Light. We must make haste and go to the Realm."

"Erin is right." Alica agreed. "And if we're all ready to go, I don't see why we should wait any longer."

"I'm as ready as can be." Siyil grinned. The three gave Aria a questioning look.

"Oh… I'm ready to go, too." She quickly told them, looking a bit startled.

"You sure?" Erin asked, sounding worried. "You look a bit absent-minded."

"Sorry." Aria apologized, looking at her feet. "It's just… Well, I still can't quite believe it… Being alive and all…" She looked up, her eyes determined. "But that won't stop me. You're all right, we should go now, so let's, shall we?"

They nodded and then walked to the portal that had appeared behind the Crystal. When all four had taken place on it, the portal started to glow and then with a flash, they were warped away to the place where their task was to be fulfilled.

---

The Realm of Emptiness had been there since the beginning of existence. It was the Void itself, existing as a realm somewhere around the two worlds. Ages ago, Light and Dark were born from the Void, but the only thing that would keep them alive was a fragile balance between the two. Should the balance be broken, the Void, ever consuming, would see it as a sign. A sign that the time had come for everything to return to what it once was: nothing. It had happened for the first time 1000 years ago. The Balance broken, light threatening the Dark. And out of the impurity that came from that broken Balance, the Void gave birth to something awful. A Cloud of Light, followed by a Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Light sought to return all to the beginning of existence, yet was halted by the force called Hope and the first Warriors of the Dark. But the Cloud of Light had lived on, for her sister still existed. And together they had waited. Waited up until now, when the balance was broken yet again. Darkness threatening to flood the Light. Threatening to return all to the beginning of existence.

---

Aria and the others materialized inside the Realm. They found footing on a strange plume of clouds, its colours golden, yet not pretty. They were surrounded by stars trapped in fields of nothingness that went on forever, never ending. There was a twisting and turning pathway made out of the golden clouds, leading on to an incredible bright light source in the distance. This path was the only one they could take. There was only one way to go, and that was straight to the Cloud of Light.

"Nice interior." Siyil remarked sarcastically, being the first to speak up. His sudden remark that had broken the silence, startled them and they all turned to give him a glare. Erin turned to look at the light in the distance, his eyes narrowing.

"That must be our enemy and destination." He said slowly. "The Cloud of Light."

His companions came standing beside him, all looking at the light in the distance. They didn't really know how to feel. Nervous? Afraid? They didn't know. Their enemy was supposed to be weakened, but just how much? On the other hand, they didn't think that the Crystals would have sent them if they weren't ready for this task.

Alica grabbed her lance tightly. "Well, we better get going, seems to be a pretty long walk and the clock is ticking."

"Right." Erin agreed. "Let's go."

As they cautiously went on their way, walking over the path of clouds, Aria tugged at Siyil's arm. The Magus turned his head to look at her questioningly.

"What's wrong Aria?"

"Nothing, really." She assured him "I just have a question. Do you feel any different?"

Siyil raised an eyebrow. "In which way?"

"Well…" Aria stared at her feet for a small while. "I just realized that I know how to cast any White Magic spell should I want to. Which is certainly strange, for I don't remember learning them."

"Every White Magic spell, you say?" He asked and Aria nodded. "Funny, I have every Black Magic spell at my fingertips. Of course I knew most of them already, being a Magus, but it seems the missing holes in my spell library have been mysteriously filled in, too."

"Perhaps the Crystal has a hand in this?" Aria said slowly.

"I wasn't aware the Crystal had hands." Siyil replied with a wink. "But on a more serious note, could very well be." He shrugged. "Not that it is a bad thing, eh? I feel a lot safer now that I know we have a mage with Curaja and Arise at her disposal."

"I'll try to not disappoint you then." She smiled back, after which she went back to walk at the side of her brother and his hunting bird.

The walk was longer than they had expected. But perhaps that was for the best, it meant more time for them to prepare themselves for the battle. They were constantly on their guard, watching out carefully for possible ambushes from monsters, yet none came.

"Is it me or is there a certain lack of hostility towards us here?" Siyil whispered silently as they walked on.

"Don't tell me you'd actually like this place to be infested with monsters." Alica retorted.

"I don't know, the lack of them makes me feel more uneasy than their presence would, to be honest." The Magus shrugged.

"It's the Void." Erin said darkly, not looking at them. The warrior kept his gaze fixed on the light ahead. "This is where everything began: with nothing. Life is not meant to exist here."

"Then what about the Clouds?" Alica demanded. "They were born from the Void!"

"The Clouds are no living beings." Aria realized. "They are simply embodiment of a force of Nature." She shivered. "That's why I feel so unwelcome here. Because this is truly a dead place." Her gaze drifted to the light, which appeared to be motionless as ever. "I wonder, if that is truly the Cloud of Light… Why hasn't it done anything yet? Doesn't it know that we are here?"

Barely those words had left her mouth or the clouds on which they stood started to shake. The entire pathway of clouds lifted itself from the place were it had lain just a moment before and flew away, as if attracted by the light. Erin grabbed Aria firmly to prevents her from falling of and be lost forever in the depths of the Void, while Alica and Siyil managed to hold their ground on their own. The clouds gathered around the light and formed a ring of clouds around the light, rotating around it clockwise at a slow pace. Pillars coloured with a not beautiful shade of gold and a blue crystal orb on top of them, surrounded the outside of the newly formed ring of clouds, as if to mark the path the ring of clouds had to follow. While the new Warriors of the Dar staggeringly got on their feet, the bright glow in the centre of it all faded to reveal a monstrosity of epic proportions. A menacing voice broke the silence of the Void.

_We are the Cloud of Light…We shall aid __them, the Cloud of Darkness, and turn both Worlds back…Into utter Void!_

_---_

Only one chapter and the epilogue left... I'll waste no time and start writing chapter ten as soon as possible. Please look forward to the next chapter "This is the last Battle".


	10. This is the last Battle

This is it, the final chapter. For fun, this chapter is named after the original Final Battle theme from FF III on the NES, which was also called "This is the last Battle". See it as a sign of respect or something.  
Okay, so all that's left now to write for me is the epilogue...

**10. This is the last Battle**

_We are the Cloud of Light... We shall aid them, the Cloud of Darkness, and turn both Worlds back… Into utter Void!_

Erin raised his sword, a determined look appearing in his eyes. "Sorry to say, but I don't think we're going to let you do that."

Behind him, his companions nodded approvingly.

_Ha ha ha… This is the Void… __Neither light nor dark shall aid you here at the core of that which we were born from… You shall perish and your blessing of the Dark Crystals shall be used to return all to nothingness!_

The Cloud of Light was an incredible being. It looked like an unclothed female being, its legs, if it had those, not visible as the Cloud seemed to come out of a dimensional rift. Its skin had a dirty gold colour, with brownish stripes all over its body. Its arms were long and quite muscular and her hands had fingers that ended with sharp claws. It had a blue mark on its forehead, in the shape of a heart and two dark blue snakes accompanying her, one on each side, coming out of the same rift as the Cloud itself.

The ring of clouds drifted slowly around the Cloud of Light, and to the Dark Warriors' surprise they could stand still while the ring of clouds moved on. Over their heads stars zoomed through the eternity of the Void. They readied themselves, drawing their weapons.

"This is it." Erin said slowly. "This is the last battle." And with those words, he charged at the Cloud.

"I shall not allow anything to return to the Void." Alica said sharply, before jumping after Erin, charging at the Cloud as well.

"Oh for the sake of saying something heroic." Siyil sighed. "Time to save the world!" He didn't charge at the Cloud of Light, but he did run to a different spot, preparing spells as he ran.

Despite the fact that they were facing a terrible foe, Aria managed to smile. She didn't say anything 'heroic', like Siyil put it, but her eyes did get a determined look in them. She held her brother's dagger ready, but most of all prepared her spells. She followed Siyil's example and ran to the Cloud of light's side, the opposing one Siyil was at, while Alica and Erin attacked it from the front.

The Cloud of Light's attention went to the two melee attackers in front of her. Her powerful arms and clawed hands lashed out and delivered heavy blows if they hit. It was difficult for Erin to get close enough to strike the Cloud with his sword and he had to constantly dodge its powerful swipes. Alica had less trouble, for jumping kept her out of the Cloud's range. Yet landing blows on the Cloud was as difficult for her as it was for Erin, for the Cloud of light, while stuck at the same spot, was very agile and had quick reflexes regardless.

Siyil and Aria attacked the Cloud from the sides, hoping to distract its attention from Alica and Erin so that they could land a blow, but to no avail. For the Cloud still had its two snakes accompanying her and the two served as excellent guardians for the Cloud and trouble for the two mages.

Siyil had tried to land a Flare spell on the Cloud of Light itself, which one snake had countered by casting Shell on the Cloud. The other returned Siyil's attack by attacking with a powerful Lightning, which made thunderbolts rain down magically all over the battle field. Aria knew she had the ability of casting supporting spells herself, but when she cast one, the right snake immediately Dispelled them. The two guardians of the Cloud of Light worked together perfectly and thus the three creatures created from the Void had no trouble keeping the four Warriors of the Dark at bay, avoiding any harm.

"This…" Erin groaned as he lashed out at the Cloud's left arm that struck at him. "Isn't working!"

"You tell me." Alica groaned as she jumped back to avoid another strike, being unsuccessful to land any effective jumps on the Cloud herself. The next moment, Lightning rained down again, knocking the two melee fighters back. Groaning Erin got on his feet, only to be knocked back even further as the Cloud of Light effectively landed a powerful blow with her clawed hand. Erin armour protected him, but nonetheless the blow still hurt quite a lot. Siyil noticed the hunter was in trouble and was quick to chant a Firaga spell, making a tornado of fire appear right in front of the Cloud. It gave Erin enough time to get on his feet again.

"You alright?" Alica asked, keeping a watchful eye on the Cloud of Light.

"Never felt better." Erin grumbled, rubbing his pained shoulder. Suddenly a calming light surrounded him and healed his wound. Gratefully Erin looked in the direction of Aria, who had cast the healing spell n her brother.

"As long as the snakes keep casting supporting magic on the Cloud, we'll never be able to destroy it!" Aria shouted. "Focus on the snakes first!"

Erin and Alica were quick to come in action, now that they knew what to do. And not too soon, for the Cloud of light had turned its attention on Aria. The Maiden of Water had been able to cast Protect on herself, but she knew that would never be string enough to help her suffer through one of the Cloud's powerful strikes. Aria knew she had to run, and fast. An idea formed in her head and she was quick to chant the Haste spell, increasing her power, reflexes and movements. So when the Cloud of Light lashed out with its clawed hands again, she reacted quick enough to jump out of the way. The psychical strike of the Cloud was quickly followed by the Lightning it possessed however and Aria was forced to a halt and use Shell. This slowdown left her vulnerable to the Cloud of Light's attacks and it wasted no time striking at her again. Erin jumped in front of her and managed to block the oncoming attack, slashing the hand away, finally damaging the Cloud.

Alica meanwhile, had observed the battle and had noticed the difference between the two snakes. One was constantly on the offensive, while the other supported. Taking away the support would aid them tremendously already. Thus the Dragoon jumped, aiming for the snake this time. The Cloud noticed, but Erin attacked to keep it distracted. Siyil chanted another Flare spell aimed at the other snake to keep it from interfering and Aria fired of her Dispel as soon as the snake had cast its protect. Purely defenceless, Alica's spear made contact with the snake and pierced it, killing it. Lifelessly the first guardian of the cloud fell and hung down loosely at the Cloud's side. The Dragoon, feeling a little triumphant, was quick to retreat as the Cloud smashed Erin aside and held Siyil at bay with another Lightning. Aria hasted herself to Erin and tend to him. So none was left to distract the Cloud as it reared up and fired an incredibly powerful blue beam from between its hands. Alica tried to jump but to no avail, the Particle Beam exploded regardless and completely floored the Dragoon.

"Alica!" Aria, having healed Erin, ran towards the fallen Dragoon, but was soon hit by the now familiar Lightning from the Cloud's second guardian. Erin tried to get to Aria, but the Cloud reared up again and a familiar blue glow appeared between its hands.

"Erin, get away from there, it's going to use Particle Beam again!" Siyil warned.

"Can't leave Aria there!" Erin shot back, ignoring his own safety and running towards Aria regardless.

"Damn it!" Siyil cursed. There was no time to chant a spell and the Cloud was going to fire its deadly Particle Beam any second now. Siyil closed his eyes as the Cloud fired its killer attack. He heard an explosion, then the beam firing and the explosion that followed it. Confused, the Magus looked up. Erin had just helped Aria to her feet with the help of a hi-potion. Siyil didn't understand. Apparently, the Cloud's attack had missed. But then he looked up and saw Falc and Siyil couldn't help but grin as he understood. Erin had given the bird a Bomb Fragment, which the smart Falc had dropped just as the Cloud was going to fire, making it miss.

Siyil quickly got to work and chanted another spell, giving Aria the time to use Arise on Alica. "Meteor!" The Magus cried out and immediately a swarm of huge meteors were called forth by magic and dropped down one by one on the Cloud of Light, preventing it from doing anything while Aria used Arise on the fallen Dragoon. Alica groaningly got on her feet, aided by Aria.

"Thanks Aria." Alica sighed.

"You feel alright?" Aria asked hurriedly. She glanced at Erin, who had begun attacking the Cloud when Siyil's Meteor had ended. Siyil aided the Hunter of the Dark with weaker, but much quicker spells, mostly aiming for the only remaining snake, trying to prevent it from using Lightning again.

"I feel fine. Bless the Crystals they gave us you to aid us, Aria." Alica smiled. "Keep yourself safe." Giving Aria a nod, Alica jumped and joined the battle again. Aria ran to Siyil's side, deciding it to be better if she aided him in hindering the second and last snake.

Siyil just released another spell at the snake. They were weaker spells, but much quicker to cast and they hit the snake over and over again. Every time it tried to do straighten itself again, another spell would hit it, knocking it back. The snake was clearly annoyed, but didn't seem to be close to dying just yet.

"Aria." Siyil said while releasing yet another spell, not looking at the Maiden. "While I keep it busy like this, you hit it with the most powerful White Magic you have."

"I doubt Aeroga will be enough to kill this." Aria replied hastily, glancing at the snake as it was hit by Siyil's Thunder spell.

"I'm not talking about Aeroga." The Magus said sharply. Aria's eyes widened as she realized what spell he was referring to.

"I'll try, but I haven't used it before." She said, beginning to chant the spell.

"You did Arise just fine and you never used that one before either." Siyil's eyes narrowed and then showed some impressive Black Magic skill. He cast Fire, Thunder and Blizzard at the same time, hitting the snake with fire, thunder and ice respectively. When it tried to get up however, Aria released her own spell.

"Holy!"

Bright, white rays of light flung themselves into the snake and the next moment, a ring of massive Holy energy erupted out of it, dealing extreme damage. But that wasn't all, Holy had barely ended or a great Flare spell hit the snake, who fell down lifelessly after the spell had ended. The two mages smiled at each other, their teamwork effectively having bought down the last guardian of the Cloud of Light. Their happiness was short-lived however, when they noticed Alica and Erin's struggle with the Cloud itself wasn't going so smoothly.

No longer aided by its guardians, the Cloud of Light was still a mighty opponent. It still held one deadly weapon and it wasn't afraid of using it. It lashed out again with its clawed hand again. But when Erin jumped out of the way, the Cloud of Light had already reared up and fired its powerful Particle Beam. The explosion blew the Dragoon and the warrior away, and the Cloud turned its attention on the two mages. It reared up again and fired its Particle Beam. Aria threw herself on Siyil to knock both of them out of the way. The Cloud of Light tried again, but Alica managed to land a blow on the Cloud itself, for the first time in the battle. The Dragoon was swiftly knocked away by a powerful blow from the Clouds hand, but barely she was finished and Erin was already at the monster, delivering a huge strike with his sword. At the same time a Flare spell engulfed the Cloud and Erin could safely retreat, while Aria sent a Curaja spell to all of them.

"It's weakening." Siyil said to Aria, casting another Flare spell. Aria nodded, while casting a Holy spell to accompany Siyil's Flare. She knew he was right. The Cloud of Light couldn't handle all four of them at the same time. Even if it managed to get of two attackers the other two attackers would land a blow regardless. For the last time the Cloud of Light managed to straighten itself and fire its Particle Beam, but the Warriors of the Dark had won. A second Meteor spell from Siyil crippled the Cloud of light even more and it sank down, not even capable of attacking anymore. Then a blinding Light appeared at the edge of the battlefield and there was a rift in the dimension. The Warriors of the Dark could see the Cloud of Darkness, an exact copy of the Cloud of Light only with different colours, in the same position as the Cloud of Light: weakened and defeated. A silver-haired Warrior of Light could be seen rushing towards the Cloud of Darkness, his sword ready. Aria looked at the Cloud of Darkness, then at the Cloud of Light.

"Erin, finish it off at the same time Luneth finishes the Cloud of Darkness!" She shouted, having realized what had to be done. Erin nodded and at the same time as Luneth's sword stroke down the Cloud of Darkness forever, Erin delivered the final blow to the Cloud of Light.

The Warriors of the Dark stepped back as a wave of light shot out of the Cloud of Light. It was shaking and twisting, as if trying to resist against its unavoidable fate. They could see the Cloud of Darkness do the same. Then slowly the two Clouds crumbled away. The embodiments of nature's violent force called the Void perished. And within minutes, all traces of the Cloud of Light and the Cloud of Darkness were gone.

---

I'm sure everybody who has played and finished FF III DS realizes that the Cloud of Light here is just a recoloured version of the Cloud of Darkness. Not very original perhaps, but think it fits. I found it strange that in the game, they said that 1000 years ago a Flood of Light happened, but a Cloud of _Darkness_ appeared. 0.o Oh well, not that it matters.

Anyway, like I said, only the epilogue left. More like a final chapter actually. Heh.


	11. Epilogue

The last piece of this story. Enjoy.

**11. Epilogue**

A new day had dawned and at Reicas' cottage, five people and one hunting bird were standing together. Reicas himself, Erin of the Dark with Falc, Alice the Dragoon, Siyil the Magus and Aria, Maiden of Water.

"Well…" Aria said slowly, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "I guess it is time… for goodbye."

The Warriors of the Dark had returned from the Void with the aid of the Dark Crystals. They had gone to Reicas, to tell him of their victory. And they had celebrated. For the Balance was restored, the Void pushed back once more. Hope had prevailed. And then Reicas had told Aria, that she could go back to her own world if she wished to. The Crystal Shard would be able to grant that wish. Though she loved he brother and the friends she had made, she knew that she did not belong. She had to go back. There was somebody else waiting for her on the other side, maybe. And so the time for goodbye had come.

"I'll miss you brother." Aria sniffed as she embraced him. She could not stop her tears. Erin smiled weakly as he put his arms around his little sister for what could be the last time.

"I'll miss you too little sister." He said sadly. "But I can understand your decision. And… this doesn't have to be a final farewell."

She looked up in his eyes and he stroke away her tears. "I hope so." Aria said, able to bring up a smile. On Erin's shoulder, Falc squeaked at her, his sharp eyes betraying sadness. She caressed the hunting bird slowly over his head. "Goodbye Falc, look after Erin, will you?" The bird squeaked again, as if promising he would do as she asked. Erin put a hand on her shoulder as they let go of each other.

"Keep my cloak and the dagger, sister. May they serve as a souvenir." He said, finally smiling too. Aria thanked him and turned to Alica. The Dragoon didn't meet her gaze and Aria almost laughed.

"Alica, are you crying?"

"Of course not!" The Dragoon replied sharply. "Something's in my eye, that's all." She finally turned to Aria as well and pulled the Maiden close to her in a sisterly hug. "Ah who am I kidding?" Alica sighed. "I'll miss you Aria, you made me realize more than you think you did."

Aria smiled and nodded. "Thank you Alica. I won't forget you."

Alica let go of Aria, who walked to Siyil and Reicas, who were standing together. She first looked at Siyil and nodded. He grinned back and nodded as well.

"Shame I didn't meet you earlier." The Magus said, sounding as cheerful as ever. But Aria knew he was sad too. He just could hide it well.

"The same here, Siyil. I'm sure you could have told me much about magic and all. I could have learned a lot from you." She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem."

Lastly Aria turned to Reicas. The old man just smiled, his eyes having a peaceful expression. "Thank you too, Reicas. I may not have known you for long, but I'll keep the memory of our meeting forever in my heart."

Reicas bowed his head for a while, then looked up again and extended his hand, in which he held the Crystal Shard. "You are a kind young woman, Aria. Here, take this Crystal Shard as a gift."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "I… I couldn't!" She stammered. "It is yours!"

Reicas shook his head. "The Balance has been restored, I can go back to the Crystal Temple now. I no longer need the Shard and besides, its will right now is to be with you." He placed the cool Crystal Shard in the Maiden's hands. "It doesn't have much power, so it won't disturb the Balance. But it should be enough to open a gate between our worlds." Aria clutched the Crystal Shard to her chest and bowed her head, muttering words of gratitude. She raised her head, too ka deep breath and nodded.

"I guess… I'll go now." She declared slowly.

"Little sister." Erin said. "Take care. And if a certain Lightwarrior is behaving badly towards you, don't hesitate to give a call. You know we'll come."

Aria laughed, the sound of her laughter sounding like music in the ears of those who stood around her. "Thank you brother."

The Maiden of Water then raised the Crystal Shard. A ray of light that fell through the leaves fell on it and the Crystal Shard shimmered. Aria closed her eyes and told the Crystal Shard with her heart what her wish was and a gateway opened to her world. The World of Light, where she belonged. But she knew that this was no final farewell. She could comeback, always. As long as she held this Crystal Shard and wished for it, it would happen. She smiled at Erin, Alica, Siyil, Reicas and Falc one last time.

"Goodbye everyone. I'll be sure to comeback... some day."

The other waved and said their goodbyes. Alica was crying and smiling at the same time, Erin just smiling, Siyil grinning as always, Falc squeaked and flapped his wings and Reicas just stood their, watching with content eyes. Aria closed her eyes as she turned to the portal. She felt the tears and she felt herself smile, both at the same time. She nodded. This was how it had to be. Treasuring the memories of every minute in the World of Darkness, treasuring her cloak, her dagger and the Crystal Shard she stepped through the gateway between the two worlds. She felt the sadness of parting, but the happiness of going home. There was a blinding flash of light and when the light died down Aria was gone, having gone back to her own World.

---

Aria felt solid ground under her feet again and a soft breeze going through her hairs. Slowly she opened her eyes. Above her, the blue sky and the sun greeted her. There was a forest behind her and a village in the distance. She knew she had never been here before, but she knew where she was. For somebody had told her a lot about this place. She was on the Floating Continent, near the village of Ur. His hometown. Aria gasped as she saw somebody standing in the grassy field, not too far from her. Even from where she stood, she could see his silver hair. Happiness spread through her body. She recognized him.

Aria ran.

---

"_How did you survive?" _

"_It is a long story…"_

"_It doesn't matter. You're safe, you're alive." _

"_Yes… And… I'm with you."_

"_Aria…"_

"…"

"_I love you."_

The End.

---

Well, maybe I did end it a bit cliched... But whatever, right? I always thought there was something more going on between Luneth and Aria, judging from what little we saw of Aria in the game.  
So anyway, this wraps up this story. My second multi chapter fanfic done as well. If you enjoyed this fanfic and are sad its done, cheer up! I'm planning on writing a novelization of FF III soon. Very soon.

Thansk for reading "Aria, Maiden of Water".


End file.
